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Month: April, 2023
Bryan Sullivan and Devin McRae Named to Variety’s 2023 “Legal Impact Report”
Category: Awards, News | Wednesday, April 19th, 2023 | Comments Off on Bryan Sullivan and Devin McRae Named to Variety’s 2023 “Legal Impact Report”
Firm partners Bryan Sullivan and Devin McRae were recently selected for inclusion in Variety‘s 2023 “Legal Impact Report,” which honors Hollywood’s top dealmakers and litigators. Bryan was recognized for his representation of attorney Kevin Morris in various legal matters since news broke about his friendship with Hunter Biden, as well as other clients including Miley Cyrus, Chaz Dean, Lionsgate and Enderby Entertainment. Variety highlighted Devin’s representation of Kurt McLeod, who scripted the Gerard Butler-starrer “Copshop,” against his former manager Mark Williams regarding the latter’s role as producer on the film, alleging breach of fiduciary duties and conflicts of interest; and Trina Venit’s domestic violence and coercive control suit against her estranged husband, former WME agent Adam Venit.
The full list for 2023 can be found below.
Variety’s Legal Impact Report 2023: Meet Hollywood’s Top Entertainment Dealmakers and Litigators
Early Sullivan Prevails At Bench Trial Recovering Client’s Stolen Funds
Category: News, Results | Wednesday, April 19th, 2023 | Comments Off on Early Sullivan Prevails At Bench Trial Recovering Client’s Stolen Funds
Early Sullivan Senior Associate Brett Moore successfully obtained a judgment in favor of client Plaintiff Cleredene Sheriff in a breach of contract and conversion matter against Defendant Pamela Azmi-Andrew. Ms. Sheriff retained Early Sullivan for the limited purpose of representing her in a bench trial to recover funds stolen by her late-daughter’s roommate.
In 2017, Colleen Mayne, Ms. Sheriff’s daughter and only child was suffering from breast cancer and had a seizure that ultimately left her in a coma. In the weeks and months following Ms. Mayne’s seizure, Defendant Azmi-Andrew volunteered to help Colleen manage her expenses. Ms. Mayne gave Ms. Azmi-Andrew her credit cards, owned jointly between Ms. Sheriff and her daughter, for that purpose. Defendant ended up using the credit cards to obtain cash advances for herself and to pay for flights, car rentals (including a Lamborghini), and other items. These charges were made without permission from Ms. Sheriff or Ms. Mayne. When Ms. Azmi-Andrew was confronted about the charges, over text messages, she agreed to repay them.
At trial, Defendant contended that the charges were gifts and that Ms. Mayne agreed to loan a large sum of money to Defendant, which she intended to repay. She claimed that she never had possession of Ms. Mayne’s credit cards. She further denied having entered into an agreement to repay the amounts she stole. Notwithstanding Defendant’s defenses and stories explaining the charges made on the cards, on cross-examination by Mr. Moore, her defenses and stories completely unraveled. Ultimately, the Judge stated that he found Defendant’s credibility “wholly lacking” and rendered a verdict in favor of our client. Ms. Sheriff will get nearly everything that was stolen from her, plus interest.
Bryan Sullivan Speaks to IndieWire About Warner Bros. Discovery’s Strategy for the New ‘Max’ Streaming Service
Category: News, Press | Friday, April 14th, 2023 | Comments Off on Bryan Sullivan Speaks to IndieWire About Warner Bros. Discovery’s Strategy for the New ‘Max’ Streaming Service
Bryan Sullivan recently spoke with IndieWire about the announced changes to Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming strategy following their merger. ‘Max’ will be the company’s new leading streaming service, combining the content from HBO Max and Discovery+. The article highlighted the lackluster sentiment some players on Wall Street felt toward the announcement.
At the center of the online discourse for the announcement was the critique on Warner Bros. Discovery’s choice to rebrand the platform to ‘Max’ and remove ‘HBO’ from the name. Bryan came out in support of the name change saying, “From a branding standpoint, it’s easier to say ‘Max.’ One syllable, one word… It might be a joke right now because you’re used to saying ‘HBO Max.’”
Bryan expanded on that idea, explaining how “simple” and “straightforward” names are good choices and that ‘Max’ will soon feel natural. “Nobody’s really going to care (about the name),” Bryan told IndieWire, “they’re just going to focus on the content that’s being promoted and then talk about how great Max is.”
Early Sullivan Client Prevails at Bench Trial Against Adverse Possession Claim
Category: News, Results | Tuesday, April 11th, 2023 | Comments Off on Early Sullivan Client Prevails at Bench Trial Against Adverse Possession Claim
An Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP trial team of Scott Gizer, Padideh Zargari and Brett Moore successfully defended firm client AVTWO Homes LLC against an adverse possession claim in a bench trial before Judge Hammock in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Plaintiffs claimed to be the owners of certain real property in Los Angeles County through adverse possession based on a grant deed they received from Fannie Mae purporting to convey fee title to the property. However, Fannie Mae did not own fee title to the property, but only owned a leasehold interest in the land. Fannie Mae had made a loan to AVTWO Homes’ tenant to purchase a leasehold interest in the property and the loan was secured against that leasehold interest. The tenant’s leasehold interest was documented through a recorded 40-year Ground Lease. Fannie Mae ultimately foreclosed on its deed of trust and its borrowers’ leasehold interest, but then sold the property to Plaintiffs as if Fannie Mae owned fee title.
The Early Sullivan team presented evidence and argued that due to the recorded Ground Lease, Plaintiffs became tenants under the Ground Lease by operation of law and, thus, were precluded from claiming adverse possession under Code of Civil Procedure section 326. Plaintiffs argued that they could not be deemed tenants unless they had actual knowledge of the Ground Lease and consented to its terms. The trial court ruled in favor of AVTOW Homes finding that Plaintiffs took title subject to the Ground Lease and, thus, were in privity of estate with AVTWO Homes under the Ground Lease. Accordingly, under CCP section 326, Plaintiffs could not assert a claim for adverse possession.
Variety Asks Devin McRae to Weigh In on CNN Contract Provisions Following Don Lemon’s Alleged Misogyny in the Workplace
Category: News, Press | Thursday, April 6th, 2023 | Comments Off on Variety Asks Devin McRae to Weigh In on CNN Contract Provisions Following Don Lemon’s Alleged Misogyny in the Workplace
Devin McRae recently spoke to Variety about television anchor Don Lemon’s contract with CNN, and whether included provisions may give the network the ability to terminate the agreement, following recent public and workplace allegations of misogyny raised against Lemon.
The article examines allegations against Lemon dating back nearly two decades through present day, when his recent on-air comments about Nikki Haley led to his CNN cohosts walking off in the middle of their show. There are claims that Lemon insulted a producer’s weight, sent threatening texts to previous ‘Live From’ cohost Kyra Philips, and mocked Nancy Grace on air and in staff meetings, among other misdeeds. CNN has enforced varying degrees of disciplinary action throughout the years, though as the article showcases, the mounting misogynistic allegations against Lemon have led to speculation about whether the network will keep him around for much longer.
When asked to opine on whether CNN might go so far as to terminate its agreement with the star, and whether they would have legal grounds to do so, Devin shared, “These provisions that [CNN anchors] have in their contracts that define what is cause for termination, it’s pretty abstract. That allows CNN to subjectively apply it.” He continued on to explain that, “Ultimately, it does seem to come down to, ‘How is Lemon’s behavior making CNN look?’”