A Hollywood management and production company has dropped its lawsuit against a screenwriter who the firm alleged owed them commissions despite firing the agency in 2021.
Lawyers for The Gotham Group LLC filed court papers on Thursday with Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Mark Young asking for dismissal of the company’s lawsuit against screenwriter Daniel Strong, known for such television shows as “Empire” and the Hulu series “Dopesick.”
The papers did not state whether a settlement was reached in the case filed Sept. 27, 2021, or if the plaintiff is not pursuing the case for other reasons. The Gotham Group had sought a court finding that the parties’ contract was still enforceable and that the company was entitled to receive commissions.
According to the suit, The Gotham Group and Strong had a verbal agreement under which the company advised and assisted the producer in his screenwriting and directorial career in exchange for a 10% commission of all that Strong was paid for projects he undertook, other than for his acting services, once Gotham Group began to serve as his literary manager.
The Gotham Group managed Strong’s career as he entered into increasingly more lucrative production and/or development agreements with entertainment companies such as HBO and Disney, the latter of which recently became his most lucrative contract when he received a three-year extension last July, according to the suit.
“For nearly two decades, the parties enjoyed great success working together,” according to the suit. “Danny’s literary career kept reaching new heights under Gotham Group’s assistance and advisement, and in return, he honored his obligations and paid Gotham Group the commissions it was entitled to. Unfortunately, the story would not have a Hollywood ending.”
Soon after he received his Disney extension, and despite his success achieved by working with the Gotham Group, Strong expressed concerns over his personal finances, stated that he was not pleased with paying a 10% commission and said the amount should be less, the suit states.
On Sept. 13, Strong fired Gotham Group “in the misguided belief that by doing so, he would not have to pay Gotham Group its commissions for his new television deal,” the suit stated.
Strong’s position that his firing of the Gotham Group relieves his future obligation to pay commissions “flies in the face of standard, and widely accepted, industry practice that when a client terminates their relationship with their manager, they still owe commissions for monies received on projects either entered into or for which substantial negotiations had taken place,” the suit stated.