But that doesn't mean they have any intention of giving the money back to their investors who are suing them.

Today, the hearing concerning a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures by Marathon Funding continued, and had one major breakthrough.

The lawyer representing the studio finally admitted that giving Tommy Lee Jones a big $15 million bonus pay-out for No Country For Old Men was an error on their part. The lawyer conceded that when Tommy was promised this bonus, it was understood, but not clarified in his contract, that he would only get the bonus should the film make double the estimated profit. Since it didn't the studio wasn't prepared to pay him, but Tommy's contract gave him way to sue them for the money.

While the chain of events that have led to Marathon suing Paramount have been quite odd, the studio still maintains that they are not in breach of fiduciary duty. Regardless of the error, Paramount's lawyers insist that the deduction taken from Marathon's investment was completely within their right. Apparently, Jones' contract was executed before financiers got on board and that these investment agreements required those putting up money to pay losses.

Sounds like people need to read their paperwork with a more careful eye!

[Image via WENN.]

View full post on PerezHilton

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But that doesn't mean they have any intention of giving the money back to their investors who are suing them.

Today, the hearing concerning a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures by Marathon Funding continued, and had one major breakthrough.

The lawyer representing the studio finally admitted that giving Tommy Lee Jones a big $15 million bonus pay-out for No Country For Old Men was an error on their part. The lawyer conceded that when Tommy was promised this bonus, it was understood, but not clarified in his contract, that he would only get the bonus should the film make double the estimated profit. Since it didn't the studio wasn't prepared to pay him, but Tommy's contract gave him way to sue them for the money.

While the chain of events that have led to Marathon suing Paramount have been quite odd, the studio still maintains that they are not in breach of fiduciary duty. Regardless of the error, Paramount's lawyers insist that the deduction taken from Marathon's investment was completely within their right. Apparently, Jones' contract was executed before financiers got on board and that these investment agreements required those putting up money to pay losses.

Sounds like people need to read their paperwork with a more careful eye!

[Image via WENN.]

View full post on PerezHilton

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!