Billy Crystal was sued Thursday by former manager Larry Brezner’s widow, who claims that the comedy legend is withholding funds owed to her late husband and his talent company. The suit, filed in Los Angeles by Dominique Cohen-Brezner, cites breach of oral contract, breach of implied contract and failure to provide accounting of money owed; it calls for a jury trial.
Crystal is accused in the court documents, obtained and reviewed by TheWrap, of failing to meet his financial obligations since 2023 to Brezner Steinberg Partners, Inc., the talent management and production company originally founded by Brezner and David Steinberg. Brezner represented Crystal for over 30 years before he died in October 2015.
The suit alleges that when Brezner and Steinberg began providing management services to Crystal — first through Morra Brezner Steinberg & Tenenbaum Entertainment, Inc. and later through Brezner Steinberg Partners, Inc. — he agreed to pay 10% of all the financial compensation he received for any acting and voice-acting jobs he landed while represented by them, including “sequels, derivative and repackaged works.”
When Brezner died in 2015, Cohen-Brezner assumed his position as an equal 50% shareholder and director of Brezner Steinberg Partners, Inc. alongside Steinberg. For almost eight years after Brezner’s death, Crystal purportedly continued to pay the agreed-to commissions to Brezner Steinberg Partners.
However, Cohen-Brezner’s suit alleges that Crystal informed Steinberg in July 2023 that he would cease doing so. Since then, he has allegedly continued to pay just Steinberg “handsomely” for his projects as part of a “fee revision” negotiated between the two men, while no longer paying the management company of which Cohen-Brezner and Steinberg are equal shareholders and directors.
In a statement to TheWrap, Steinberg defended Crystal and emphasized Cohen-Brezner’s “modest, checkered business past.”
“This is a frivolous lawsuit brought by a litigious woman who has been involved in more than 20 lawsuits during her modest, checkered business past. The past year she has been suing me, falsely claiming she is owed money. I have not capitulated to her efforts to force me to pay her money she is not owed, so she has apparently decided on a new tactic — to embarrass me first by suing my attorney and now by suing my longtime client Billy Crystal, hoping I will buy her off to protect my cherished, 40-year relationship with Billy,” Steinberg said. “Billy does not deserve this; he is the most honorable man who has done nothing wrong and has absolutely nothing to do with my dispute with this woman. It is a sad commentary on how some people use the legal system.”
The widow first sued Steinberg in July 2024 for alleged “fraud and breaches of fiduciary duty” to Brezner Steinberg Partners, Inc. (referred to in the lawsuit as “BSP”). Now, she has sued Crystal “in the right and for the benefit of BSP to redress injuries suffered by BSP as a direct result of Crystal’s wrongful acts.”
Representatives for Crystal did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Cohen-Brezner’s lawyers contend that Crystal’s actions and previous payments to her late husband’s management company rendered the oral agreement he made “a valid and enforceable contract.”
“BSP has fully performed all duties, obligations, covenants and conditions required of it pursuant to the Implied Agreement, except to the extent such performance was waived, excused, or prevented by reason of the acts and omissions of Crystal and/or third parties,” the suit states. “Crystal has misappropriated and wrongfully retained monies owed and payable to BSP.”
Cohen-Brezner’s suit seeks a full “accounting of the books and records of Crystal” to determine the exact amount of money that the widow believes is owed to Brezner Steinberg Partners. She is also seeking an award for “damages sustained by BSP as a result of Defendants’ conduct” and coverage for the costs of her attorneys’ fees and legal expenses.
Crystal most recently led the psychological thriller miniseries “Before,” which premiered on Apple TV+ in October 2024. He also appeared at the FireAid Benefit Concert in January, where he spoke about losing his home in California’s devastating wildfires earlier this year and helped raise money for others who had suffered losses as a result of the disasters.
In March, he and his “When Harry Met Sally” co-star Meg Ryan reunited to present the award for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars.
