Judge Rules For Abate
by Karen Holt and Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 3/28/2007 1:12:00 PM
A U.S. District Court judge today denied ICM's request for a preliminary injunction that would have prevented its former employee agent Richard Abate from starting a literary division at rival Endeavor before his contract ran out at the end of this year.
In a decision handed down today, Judge Peter Leisure said ICM failed to show that it would suffer irreparable harm, including the loss of clients and the revelation of confidential information, if Abate assumed the new role.
According to the decision, Abate has "been scrupulous to avoid interfering" with ICM's client relationships. Interestingly, the ruling also states that "ICM has not demonstrated that it has significant long-term client relationships and associated goodwill that merit protection." It said ICM represents writers for specific projects, rather than on an ongoing basis, as it does with its actor clients.
Abate's lawyer Brian Kaplan said, "I can say that Richard Abate is extremely pleased with the court's decision and looks forward to working on behalf of his clients at Endeavor."
This is not the end of the dispute between ICM and Abate. The case now goes to arbitration to decide whether Abate or Endeavor will pay any monetary damages to ICM.ICM attorney Richard B. Levy issued a statement saying, "We are disappointed with the Court’s decision. However, on behalf of our clients who rely on our efforts to protect their privacy and enforce the integrity of their contracts, Richard’s blatant misconduct compelled us to act. The final outcome now will be determined by an arbitrator."
