News

Recognize foreclosure scams for what they are
Scott Gizer was quoted in Lew Sichelman’s article “Recognize foreclosure scams for what they are,” which appeared in the January 24, 2013 issue of The Chicago Tribune. Scott discusses how many people are being conned out of a great deal of money ... read more

Sophia Lau Elevated to Partner
Los Angeles, CA – January 16, 2013 – Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP (“Early Sullivan”) has elevated Sophia Lau to Partner. Ms. Lau’s practice spans a wide variety of commercial litigation matters for both individual and corporate ... read more

How Lance Armstrong’s Oprah Confession Could Lead to His Bankruptcy
Bryan Sullivan was quoted in Eriq Gardner’s article “How Lance Armstrong’s Oprah Confession Could Lead to His Bankruptcy,” which appeared in the January 16 online edition of The Hollywood Reporter, and will appear in the January 25 THR ... read more

Scott Gizer Quoted in Herald Tribune
Scott Gizer was quoted in syndicated columnist Lew Sichelman’s article: “Recognizing foreclosure scams for what they are,” which appeared in the Herald Tribune.   read more

Audit Trend Puts Movie Studios Up In Lights
Bryan Sullivan’s article “Audit Trend Puts Movie Studios Up In Lights” recently appeared in Law 360.  The article addresses a recent entertainment industry trend, which has seen profit participants, or “talent,” aggressively auditing and suing major movie and television studios ... read more

Copyright Termination For ’70s Hits Won’t Spark Lawsuit Fever
Law360, New York (November 26, 2012, 10:00 PM ET) — Musicians who recorded hit songs in the late 1970s will gain the right to reclaim ownership of their work starting in January under a 1978 copyright law provision, and while ... read more

Elmo’s Kevin Clash Accusers: How Hush Money Works (and Doesn’t) in Sex Scandals
Bryan Sullivan was quoted in Leslie Gornstein’s article “Elmo’s Kevin Clash Accusers: How Hush Money Works (and Doesn’t) in Sex Scandals.” The full article can be found here. Source: Leslie Gornstein, E! read more

Judge grants Miley Cyrus civil restraining order
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has granted Miley Cyrus a three-year civil restraining order against a man convicted of trespassing at her home in Los Angeles. The stay-away order was granted Friday against Jason Luis Rivera by Superior Court ... read more

Crowdfunding Rules: 3 Keys for Kick-Starting a Business with Web Money
Once the domain of artists and philanthropists, crowdfunding — in which several investors put up cash for a project or business idea posted to the Web — has become a major source of capital for start-up entrepreneurs. ... read more

Indie filmmakers navigate wild west of foreign film distribution
Overseas distribution transactions can involve shady players More independent filmmakers with just a script and an actor or two attached are striking deals with foreign buyers eager to pick up distribution rights to the finished product. But while such deals ... read more

Crowdfunding: Potential Legal Disaster Waiting To Happen
Bryan Sullivan and Stephen Ma’s article titled “Crowdfunding: Potential Legal Disaster Waiting To Happen” appeared in Forbes on October 22, 2012.  The article can be found here. read more

Early Sullivan Lands Veteran Business Litigator Stephen Ma
Los Angeles, CA – October 23, 2012 – Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP (“Early Sullivan”), thriving in its second year after splitting from Glaser, Weil, Fink, Jacobs, Howard, Avchen & Shapiro LLP (“Glaser Weil”), has landed another high ... read more

‘Walking Dead’ Writer, Artist Settle Lawsuits
Robert Kirkman, author of “The Walking Dead” comics that inspired the hit AMC zombie series, has reached a settlement over payments for the work of their original artist, Tony Moore. The two childhood friends said they had resolved to “move ... read more

How an ‘Innocence of Muslims’ Lawsuit Could Impact Hollywood (Analysis)
If an actress is able to get past any written agreement she signed and convince a judge that she worked on a film under fraudulent pretenses, more controversy could be around the bend.On Wednesday, Cindy Lee Garcia, an actress featured ... read more

Liberty Hill Foundation Honors Bryan Sullivan At ChangeLA Event
On September 15, 2012, Bryan Sullivan received the NextGen Leadership Award from the Liberty Hill Foundation at its annual ChangeLA Event at the W Hotel in Hollywood recognizing Bryan’s philanthropic commitments, progressive activism, and pro bono legal work. The Liberty ... read more

Gov ordered to submit bill to pay Laufou fire judgement
Sources say amount could exceed $8 MIL and counting The High Court has issued an “alternative writ” directing Gov. Togiola Tulafono to submit for legislative approval, legislation to pay the court judgement of more than $6 million against the American ... read more

ABC urges judge not to block ‘House’
Network says $16 mil could be lost if CBS restraining order permitted ABC said it stands to waste $16 million in promotion costs if a federal judge grants CBS a temporary restraining order halting production on the Alphabet’s new reality ... read more

Amid Aereo Legal Battle, Upstart Rivals Emerge
As broadcasters attempt to shut down TV streaming service Aereo in court, several other start-ups are launching comparable services that risk undermining the lucrative retransmission fees charged by networks. The new technology suggests that broadcasters face a long fight to ... read more

Fox sues over ad-skipping service
FOX Broadcasting Co. filed suit Thursday against Dish Network LLC over its new video-on-demand service that allows subscribers to watch shows without commercials, saying the service infringes on Fox’s copyrights and breaches the companies’ distribution contract. Late Thursday, CBS and ... read more

Jury Clears Title Insurance Company Of All Claims In Bad Faith Lawsuit
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California state court jury on April 25 returned a unanimous verdict clearing a title insurance company of wrongdoing in a bad faith lawsuit regarding a failed $37 million construction loan made by a bank to a ... read more