Does life imitate art? For some it does. Julianna Margulies, star of the popular series The Good Wife, in now in the middle of some real-life, heated legal situations herself after having played the prominent, tough-talking attorney known by the stage name of Alicia Florrick.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the former management team behind Julianna is suing based on uncompensated commissions from previous work. Steve Dontanville, her old agent, and Frank Frattaroli are the two main individuals from D/F Management responsible for filing the lawsuit. The suit was filed by Los Angeles attorney, Mathew Rosengart, who is representing the interests of the D/F Management members involved in this case.
Julianna Margulies and Steve Dontanville began working together in 2009. During their time as an agent and star double team, Julianna received several business opportunities. She was selected as the representative for L’Oreal Paris, chosen for The Good Wife, and even received television appearances for ER. The suit claims that these business ventures were made possible due to the efforts of Steve Dontanville where additional unpaid compensations have yet to be divvied to Mr. Dontanville. The famous actress ended her contract with the D/F Management team on April 29, 2011. Why is this suit being filed now instead of back in 2011?
In March of this year, The Good Wife was sold into syndication, promising a hefty allowance for Julianna. Since her previous management team initially signed on for a 10 percent cut, the same team feels that they are still entitled to that cut. In addition to that cut, the firm claims that $420,000 still needs to be paid for other commission dealings.
The suit specifies that commission payment should have flowed in regards to stereotypical Hollywood industry standards where payment policies include, “Ongoing payments following termination for any and all entertainment industry employment secured during the period that the management company was providing management services to the client.”
Lacey Rose from The Hollywood Reporter explained the situation. “It is incredibly rare to have a dispute like this with a star as big as Julianna go to trial. There is potentially millions of dollars on the line for her, and the potential embarrassment that comes with going to trial,” Lacey said.
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