An attorney who gave business advice to a former partner of “Survivor” creator Mark Burnett and claimed he was owed millions of dollars is entitled to a new trial because a jury’s verdict of less than $500,000 in damages was too small, a judge ruled.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Frederick Shaller issued his decision Monday, six days after he heard arguments on Layne Leslie Britton’s motion for a new trial. He then took the motion under submission.
In his 17-page ruling, Shaller called the jury’s Feb. 26 verdict “incomplete and ambiguous.” He also found the jury’s findings were unsupported by the evidence and inconsistent with the instructions given the panel.
Although Britton is a lawyer, he gave business advice rather than legal consultation to Conrad Riggs. He maintained he was not paid at least $14 million for his work in helping Riggs pitch projects to television networks. Britton maintained that Riggs started paying him in 2002 and stopped four years later. He said he did not sue until November 2012 because he considered Riggs a friend who would eventually honor his commitments.
The jury found Riggs’ company Cloudbreak Entertainment was liable for breach of contract, but it also found the statute of limitations applied to Britton’s claims and awarded $489,850 in damages. The jury found Riggs himself not liable for any damages.
In his ruling, Shaller denied a new trial on Britton’s breach-of- contract claim, but granted it on the cause of action for money had and received as to both Riggs and Cloudbreak.
During trial, lawyer Jeffery McFarland, on behalf of Britton, said his client did everything he was obligated to do under a 2000 contract he had with Riggs.
Riggs gave Britton false accounts of his working relationship with Burnett to try to convince the plaintiff he was not making much money, according to McFarland. Riggs also lied by telling the plaintiff that he wanted to be transparent in his dealings with the plaintiff, McFarland alleged.
Riggs’ attorney, Eric George, said Britton was actually overpaid for his services. He said the $1.87 million the plaintiff received from Riggs and his company, Cloudbreak Entertainment, was far more that Britton deserved and that he sued two years later than the law allows.
“Survivor” was primarily the work of Burnett and Riggs, who were the energy behind the summer replacement series that was an instant success when it premiered in 2000, according to George.
In 2008, Riggs sued Burnett for $70 million of profits after his ex- partner allegedly did not properly pay him for his work helping Burnett sell “Survivor” to CBS and “The Apprentice” to NBC. That case was settled in March 2012.
McFarland maintained Riggs was obligated to keep Britton informed about the defendant’s settlement efforts with Burnett.
–City News Service