Cameo Clips

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that artists were precluded from raising as affirmative defenses that the plaintiff booking agency's firing of two of its key persons who handled the artists' account also terminated the artists' agreements with the agency ' and thus the artists' obligations to pay post-term commissions to the agency. Columbia Artists Management LLC (CAMI) v. Alvarez, 08 Civ. 11254(LBS). CAMI sought post-term commissions from opera singers Marcelo Alvarez, Richard Margison and Ramon Vargas. The artists had left CAMI in February 2005, after CAMI reps Bruce Zemsky and Alan Green were fired and formed their own company. CAMI sued the artists to obtain post-term commissions for engagements secured through CAMI before, but performed after, February 2005.

District Judge Leonard B. Sand first denied CAMI's motion for summary judgment on the ground that a genuine issue of material fact existed regarding the impact of a three-month, termination notice requirement and the post-termination commission provision in CAMI's agreements with the artists. Judge Sand also found genuine issues of material fact existed “as to (1) whether it is a practice within the opera industry for artists to pay commissions for performances booked but not performed prior to a manager's termination, and (2) Defendants' awareness of this practice.”