A former Proxima Media manager has dropped his lawsuit alleging the film production company owed him back wages and stock after he was abruptly let go in 2022 about three months before his contract was set to expire.
Tuhin Roy’s Los Angeles Superior Court breach-of-contract suit also named Triller as a defendant. Proxima Media held a controlling stake in the video-sharing social networking service from 2019-22.
On Monday, Roy’s attorneys filed court papers with Judge Christopher K. Lui asking that the plaintiff’s case be dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning it can’t be revived later. The court papers do not state if a settlement was reached or if the case was not being pursued for other reasons.
Proxima Media was founded by movie producer Ryan Kavanaugh, who together with his executive team, have produced more than 200 films, which have grossed over $25 billion at the box office. Triller users can create and share short-form videos, including videos set to or automatically synchronized to music using artificial intelligence technology.
Roy was hired in November 2020 a senior portfolio manager and was employed by both Proxima Media and Triller, the suit stated. He earned $500,000 annually and was granted the option to buy shares of common units in Triller as well as stock grants in two other Proxima companies, all vesting monthly over the course of the two-year term of the agreement that was good through Nov. 1, 2022, the suit stated.
However, Proxima Media and Triller terminated Roy’s employment agreement “without cause” in July 2022, the suit alleged.
Roy is owed $125,000 in wages and his common units continued to vest and are worth $2.86 million, according to the suit filed April 24, which further stated that Roy’s multiple demands that Proxima Media and Triller pay what he is owed were ignored.