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NJ Federal Judge Upholds $7.3 Mil. Award for Lady Gaga Talent Scout
The producer credited with launching Lady Gaga's career lost his bid to trim the $7.3 million he was ordered to pay a talent scout for introducing him to the singer. Federal Judge Jose Linares of the District of New Jersey denied defendant Rob Fusari's motion for remittitur of the November 2014 verdict, rejecting his claim that the amount of the award to plaintiff Wendy Starland wasn't supported by the evidence in the case. Starland v. Fusari, 2010cv04930.
District Judge Linares said the award “cannot be said to have been excessive or clearly unsupported by the evidence or indicative of manifest injustice and is not shocking to the court.” He had entered a final judgment for Starland in the amount of $7.34 million on Feb. 4, 2015, despite objections raised by Fusari, who took issue with dollar amounts and the phrasing of questions presented to jurors on the verdict form. But Judge Linares noted that the verdict form was approved by both parties during trial.
Fusari argued that $108,500 in expenses he incurred during the search for Gaga should be deducted from the amount paid to Starland. But the district judge said that, based on the evidence presented, the jury might reasonably find that Fusari's expenses weren't entitled to deduction because Starland wasn't reimbursed for her expenses either. The judge also rejected Fusari's claims that the final judgment should be reduced to reflect Fusari's earnings for composing songs for Gaga, which Starland didn't collaborate on, and should exclude his earnings for serving as a creative producer for individual songs.
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