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Ruling may aid talent managers

They could be entitled to pay for procuring work for clients, the state high court says.

January 29, 2008|Josh Friedman, Times Staff Writer

"In the last 10 years there has been a growing concern about how to keep the fly-by-night types out while recognizing that bona fide managers perform a proper function and should be compensated for it," said Bill Grantham, an entertainment lawyer at Greenberg Traurig in Santa Monica.

The Blasi dispute began in 2003 when Marathon sued the actress over unpaid commissions, and she responded by alleging that the manager had acted as an unlicensed talent agent by illegally procuring work for her. Blasi had fired Marathon two years after she became a regular on the show.


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The Supreme Court determined that the underlying cases contained a "genuine dispute of material facts over whether severability might apply to allow partial enforcement" of the contract.

The decision upheld a 2006 appellate court ruling in the case, which found that the court and labor commissioner could sever illegal acts from contracts between a manager and talent. The case will be sent back to the labor commissioner and a lower court for further proceedings.

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josh.friedman@latimes.com

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