Who says that entertainment-industry bigwigs don’t have the same problems as the rest of us?
Film producer Joel Silver has filed a lawsuit against a gallery, saying that he agreed to pay $8 million for a Jeff Koons “Balloon Venus” sculpture, saying that completion of the sculpture has been delayed by years.
Silver, whose credits include the “Lethal Weapon” and “Die Hard” films, is asking for the $3.2 million he says he’s already paid for the sculpture, and then some.
In his suit, filed against Gagosian Gallery in New York Supreme Court on Friday, Silver says that he initially purchased the statue in February 2014, with an estimated completion of June 2017.
Silver says that, in January 2017, “long after” he had shelled out $3.2 million in payments for the artwork, the gallery told him that the estimated completion date had been bumped up to July 2019, at which point he asked for his money back. However, the suit says the gallery “threatened instead to forfeit” the $3.2 million unless he continued to make payments on a revised schedule, and the producer agreed to a modified agreement, which provided for three payments of $1.6 million made on or before the estimated delivery date of December 2020.
Silver didn’t make the first such payment in early 2018, the suit says, after which the gallery again threatened to forfeit the $3.2 million Silver says he already paid. Silver, according to the suit, offered to put $2.4 million in an escrow account, which would be released, along with the remaining $2.4 million owed, upon delivery and completion of the sculpture, but according to the suit the gallery rejected the offer and insisted that he pay the $1.6 million payment instead.
The lawsuit states that a similar complaint was filed against the Gagosian Gallery on April 19 by Steven Tananbaum, which Silver’s suit says “revealed that the Gagosian Gallery had deployed the same coercive tactics against Mr. Tananbaum that it used against Plaintiff Silver.”
“Mr. Koons has become a world-renowned artist because he approaches each piece with utmost integrity and attention to detail. He produces large, complex pieces of art that require master craftsmanship and take time to execute. Because of the unusual process used to create his pieces, and his impeccable standards for completion, his contracts for sale specifically state that the delivery dates are only estimates,” a gallery spokesperson told TheWrap in a statement Monday. “For more than 30 years Jeff Koons has been creating works of art and to our knowledge, without exception, has never failed to deliver these works and always to the enormous satisfaction of the collector. Progress is being made on the pieces at issue in these litigations, and as always they will be delivered upon completion.”
Alleging violation of Article 13 of New York’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, the suit is asking for the $3.2 million back, plus interest, as well as treble damages “in the amount of $6.6 million.”
Between Lindsay Lohan firing back at Fox News, Mariah Carey allegedly short changing her domestic help, and Sly Stone winning millions after suing his ex-manager -- stars often turn to the courts to address their squabbles and strife.
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A former nanny for Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon filed a lawsuit on Jan. 28, 2015, alleging she was fired after showing the couple's kids too much affection and did not receive overtime pay despite working 100 hours per week.
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Legendary funk artist Sly Stone won $5 million on Jan. 27, 2015, after suing his former manager and entertainment attorney for misappropriating royalties owed him for more than 20 years.
Former “Real Housewives of Orange County” executive producers Patrick Moses and Kevin Kaufman filed a suit against Bravo in Nov. 2014, claiming they were deceitfully ousted from the show and bilked out of millions of dollars after helping to create the show and the franchise.
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Jessie Nizewitz, a contestant on VH1’s “Dating Naked,” filed suit in New York in Aug. 2014, seeking $10 million in damages for emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment after the show allegedly failed to properly blur her genitals.
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Octavia Spencer was awarded $940,000 in Dec. 2014 after claiming a weight loss company, Sensa Products Inc., wrongfully fired her from an endorsement deal and still owed her money.
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Former Tinder executive Whitney Wolfe filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former company June 2014, alleging she was repeatedly called a "whore" by CMO Justin Mateen and was stripped of her co-founder title simply for being a woman.
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Former TMZ producer Jarrett Gaeta slapped his former employer with a lawsuit in June 2014, claiming he was wrongly terminated. Gaeta was let go after a subordinate accused him of "racist behavior," including defending blackface and sending pictures of watermelons to African-American employees.
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CNN America was sued in Aug. 2014 by a pair of plaintiffs who claim that correspondent Arwa Damon bit one of them and threatened both during a drunken altercation at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
"Boardwalk Empire" actress Paz de la Huerta sued Lionsgate in Aug. 2014 claiming she was run over by an ambulance while filming "Nurse 3D." Lionsgate filed a motion to dismiss, which De La Huerta opposed on Jan. 23, 2015. Lionsgate then opposed her opposition on Jan. 30, 2015, in a seemingly neverending loop of opposing motions.
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Rapper Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP Rocky, was sued in civil court in June 2014 for allegedly assaulting a woman while making his way through a crowd during the 2013 Made in America Festival.
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Nicki Minaj’s former hairstylist and wig designer filed a $30 million lawsuit against the rapper in 2014 for allegedly stealing his wig designs and costing him a potential reality show. A judge later dismissed the case for lack of sufficient evidence.
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West filed suit against YouTube founder Chad Hurley on Oct. 31, 2013, claiming he posted a video of the couple’s surprise engagement to his website without permission. The process was delayed when Hurley’s reps filed an anti-SLAPP motion in an attempt to have the case dismissed.
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Jahmel Binion filed a lawsuit against Shaquille O’Neal in July 2014 when O’Neal posted a photo to his Instagram account mocking Binion, who suffers from a rare condition that causes facial abnormalities, sparse hair and missing teeth. Binion claimed defamation, emotional distress and invasion of privacy in the $25,000 lawsuit, and after pressure from the public O’Neal apologized.
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In 2014 singer Chris Brown was mentioned in a lawsuit filed by the cousin of artist Frank Ocean. The defendant claimed Brown and an associate allegedly kicked and punched him when he confronted them about parking in a spot designated for Ocean at a Los Angeles recording studio. Ocean, who was also injured, later said he wouldn't seek criminal or civil penalties.
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From embezzlement to slander, there’s no shortage of celebrity court action
Between Lindsay Lohan firing back at Fox News, Mariah Carey allegedly short changing her domestic help, and Sly Stone winning millions after suing his ex-manager -- stars often turn to the courts to address their squabbles and strife.