Entertainment Litigation Attorney in Los Angeles, California
Can you tell us about a memorable entertainment matter you handled?
Can you tell us about a memorable entertainment matter you handled?
More In This Category
View Transcript
I had a client who had developed the basic idea behind a television show that became Criminal Minds. He had a partner and they developed what’s called a treatment, where they list out the basic premise of the television show, the main characters, and slight aspects of their personalities. And, it was their intent to develop that treatment into what they call a pilot, which is the first episode of a television show.
My client’s partner desired to write that pilot on his own. My client wanted to be a cowriter, which, in the connection with the pilot makes you a co-creator of show. That’s just industry jargon. Their partner did not want to have a partner and they could not resolve their differences. So, they decided not to pursue the show at all. So that, they could maintain their friendship.
Months later my client learned that his former partner had went behind his back, had in fact written the pilot to Criminal Minds and had sold it. So, what we did is we waited until the show was well into production so that it couldn’t be undone and the egg was already scrambled and we sued.
Alleging that my client had entered into a joint venture arrangement with his partner to develop the show that became Criminal Minds. What ultimately happened was the partner denied being in a joint venture relationship and we had to find written evidence of that. And, this was in the days, years ago, before people were keeping good track of their e-mails. My client was aware of an e-mail that was sent by both of them to prospective producers saying that they had co-created this project. But, he had lost that e-mail. And, his former partner had “lost” the e-mail.
It was very difficult. This is less lawyering and more about social skills. Because, these entertainment folk are very busy and they’re not necessarily into, you know, doing favors for people outside the industry. They just, for lack of a better phrase, wrapped up in themselves. So, we had to do a little bit of schmoozing and a little bit of hand holding and eventually were able to get one of these people to take a busy time out of their day to go pour through their old e-mails and to find the e-mail that my client had truly lost and his opponent had quote unquote “lost”.
Once we obtained that e-mail we presented it to the defense. They still sought what was called summary judgement in court saying a joint venture must include specific agreements as to how you’re gonna split the money, what type of bank account you’re going to open, how expenses are going to be split, what the name of the joint venture is going to be, all these indicia of a formal joint venture agreement. At first the judge bought into that, we argued back very strenuously that a joint venture, like any partnership can be done simply on a handshake. And, eventually prevailed with the court, denied the summary judgement and once that happens the case resolved to the parties mutual satisfaction.
Contact Brian M. Grossman
Email This Lawyer
(310) 207-4558
See All This Lawyer's Videos
Visit Lawyer's Website
Los Angeles, CA commercial litigation attorney Brian M. Grossman tells the story of a memorable entertainment matter he handled. He recalls that he once represented a client who had developed the basic idea behind what later became the television show Criminal Minds. The client and his partner created a treatment, laying out the premise of the show, the main characters, and aspects of their personalities. Their plan was to turn that treatment into a pilot episode, which, in industry terms, would also have made them co-creators of the show.
The problem arose when his client’s partner insisted on writing the pilot alone, while his client wanted to be a co-writer. Unable to resolve their disagreement, they set the project aside to preserve their friendship. Months later, however, his client discovered that the partner had secretly written the pilot for Criminal Minds and sold it.
Strategically, he and his team waited until the show was deep into production, so that it could not be undone, before filing suit. They alleged that his client and the partner had entered into a joint venture to develop the show. The partner denied this, forcing them to search for written evidence of the joint venture. This was before people carefully archived emails, and both sides claimed to have lost the key email in which they jointly told prospective producers that they had co-created the project.
The challenge then became less about legal maneuvering and more about persistence and people skills. Entertainment professionals were notoriously busy and not eager to dig through old records, but with some persuasion and relationship-building, he convinced one of them to search their emails. That effort uncovered the missing message.
Even with the email, the defense sought summary judgment, arguing that a joint venture required formal agreements regarding money, bank accounts, expenses, and other formalities. Initially, the judge accepted that view. He fought back vigorously, arguing that, like any partnership, a joint venture could exist on the basis of a handshake. Ultimately, the court denied summary judgment, and once that ruling came down, the case was resolved to the satisfaction of both parties.
