How the CAA vs. Range Brawl Was Destabilized By a Leak
📖 Full Retelling
An arbitration win with millions of dollars at stake for key defectors from the mega-agency was supposed to stay sealed. It didn't — and the rest of the case could turn on the news.
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Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text Lawyers at CAA were alarmed by the leaks, which could bring far more pain than bad publicity. It was January, days after news spilled that it had lost a legal battle over the high-profile exits of four agents — Jack Whigham, Dave Bugliari, Michael Cooper and Mick Sullivan — who left to help Peter Micelli start management firm Range Media Partners in 2020. By all appearances, it was an overwhelming defeat for the agency. An arbitrator had sided with the Range founders that CAA breached their contracts and fiduciary duties to them when it cancelled their equity in the wake of their departures, a ruling that could net the agents’ millions of dollars each. Perhaps more importantly, CAA’s counterclaims accusing the agents of stealing trade secrets on their way out and starting a rival agency that masquerades as a management firm were rejected. Within a month, those details made the trades. “We think it’s wildly inappropriate that somebody has leaked — and we believe it’s on the other side — the decision,” said Bo Pearl, a lawyer for CAA, during a court hearing in January. The arbitration was the subject of a contentious email exchange between the two sides. The Bryan Lourd-led CAA was looking for discovery on another issue but Range — vexed that the agency declined to address requests about turning over the ruling — pushed back. “Why is your team repeatedly ignoring our emails about the arbitration decision and related documents?” asked Ilissa Samplin, a lawyer for Range, in a Jan. 12 message, later adding that the “delay on this is clearly tactical,” according to court documents. CAA attorney Stephen McIntyre was blunt: “The arbitration is far from over.” Those proceedings are one of three battlefronts in a steadily escalating legal w...
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