Looks like another agency has had to go after another star in court over the latter not paying the former what they allegedly owe. In this case it is UTA, that today slammed Unforgettable star Poppy Montgomery with a breach of contract complaint in LA Superior Court. The agency wants the more than $248,222 they say they are due in unpaid commissions for the actress’ work on the CBS series. In the 16-page jury-demanding filing, UTA also says it wants general damages, interest and legal fees from Montgomery, who now is with ICM Partners.
“Montgomery paid commissions due to UTA through and including season one of [Unforgettable], and then, for no reason whatsoever, suddenly stopped making payments,” says the complaint (read it here). “Montgomery has not only turned her back on the people who helped her career, but on her contractual obligations to those people.” According to filing, UTA and Montgomery entered into an oral agreement in August 2010 that the agency would rep the actress. The Unforgettable deal was negotiated in February 2011. The crime drama debuted in September of that year on CBS. Montgomery exited UTA not long after her agent Ruthanne Secunda joined ICM in December 2012. (UPDATE, 8:05 PM: A statement I received from Montgomery’s reps says in part that “Poppy categorically disputes UTA’s claim, which is nothing more than an over-reaching claim by a talent agency which has done nothing for Poppy over the past several years.”)
As is typical in these oh-so-typical cases, the plaintiff makes very clear exactly the 10% of what it wants. In this case, UTA reveals how its former client got $90,000 an episode for Season 1 of Unforgettable, with $93,600 per episode for Season 2 and $97,340 for Season 3. It is the money from Seasons 2 and 3 that UTA is looking to be awarded in the 7-claim complaint. In some ways, UTA’s timing with this lawsuit couldn’t have been better as Unforgettable is set return for a third season on June 29.
UTA is represented by Bryan Freedman and Jordan Susman of LA firm Freedman + Taitelman. Full disclosure, the firm has represented Deadline’s parent company PMC in legal matters.
