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Counsel Concerns

By Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
March 01, 2024

Malpractice Claims Filed Against Loeb & Loeb and Of Counsel Over King Fury 2 Film Production

A Chinese film production company seeks over $60 million in damages and alleges a Los Angeles law firm and its attorney committed legal malpractice and breached their fiduciary duty while involved in an overseas film production. Shanghai-based Creasun Entertainment USA Inc., has filed suit against Loeb & Loeb and attorney Michael Helfant, who is of counsel to the firm, in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Creasun Entertainment USA Inc. v. Helfant, 24STCV03380.

Creasun claims the defendants failed to diligently represent its interests when the company retained the firm and Helfant to negotiate its financing for the film King Fury 2, set to star Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Fassbender, among others. Creasun became involved with the production after film producer Alex Lebovici approached Minglu Ma, the company's chairman, about an investment opportunity in the film.

The lawsuit claims Lebovici and the defendants also "secretly developed an attorney-client relationship" that created a conflict of interest when they represented Creasun in negotiations with Lebovici and his business partners. When Ma visited Bulgaria for the movie's production, she claims she learned of alleged fraudulent activity with the film's budget. Despite only investing $3 million at the time, the film had over $4 million in its account and producers told Ma it "was a simple accounting error," the complaint said.

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