Broadway ad agency sues producer Scott Rudin, claims he owes $6.3M
SpotCo has worked on 8 to 12 of Rudin's shows every year since 2014, according to the suit
The stage is set for a legal battle brewing between veteran Broadway producer Scott Rudin and advertising agency SpotCo.
$7.9M NEW YORK ESTATE ONCE BELONGED TO EGOT-WINNING COMPOSER MARVIN HAMLISCH
The ad agency claims Rudin owes the company $6,331,972.04 as of July 24. In a lawsuit filed with the New York State Supreme Court, SpotCo said Rudin and his production company, Scott Rudin Productions, failed to pay for work done on eight shows, including "To Kill a Mockingbird," a revival of "West Side Story" that opened in February and an upcoming revival of "The Music Man" that was set to open this fall before being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Jonathan Zavin, an attorney representing Rudin and his productions, has denied the claim, telling the New York Times that the case has "no merit" and that the defendants "intend to contest it vigorously.”
Zavin and attorneys representing Spotco did not immediately return FOX Business' requests for comment.
Producer Scott Rudin attends the 62nd Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards at Sardi's on May 24, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/WireImage)
SpotCo, which has worked on eight to 12 of Rudin's shows every year since 2014, according to the suit, alleges that Scott Rudin Productions has had "a practice of being delinquent on outstanding invoices."
"Rudin and SRP's usual practice is to make partial payments on outstanding invoices on the one hand, while requesting additional services on the other," the lawsuit reads. "In other words, while the oldest debts were paid off, new debts were incurred, and the result was that the totality of the debt was never paid in full."
CORONAVIRUS FORCES DISNEY TO CLOSE 'FROZEN' ON BROADWAY
SpotCo noted that it was previously able to come to terms with Rudin over the outstanding debt until a September 2019 dispute in which a series of repeated requests for payment of monies owed were allegedly ignored by Rudin and his production companies.
The company is seeking monetary damages against Rudin and his production companies for "breach of oral contract, breach of implied in fact contract, breach of the warranty of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, and quantum meruit to recover from Defendants."
SpotCo, founded in 1997, said the services it has provided, without a written contract, include media buying, ad production and marketing strategy.
In his career, Rudin has won 17 Tony Awards and an Academy Award for Best Picture for producing “No Country for Old Men.”
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
The curtains have been down on Broadway since mid-March due to the pandemic. In June, industry group The Broadway League announced that theaters will remain closed through at least Jan. 3, 2021 after previously setting a tentative reopening date of Sept. 6.