Zooey Deschanel isn’t one for paying her bills. At least, that’s according to a new lawsuit filed against the “New Girl” star by her former manager.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, alleges that Deschanel owes commissions to Seven Summits Pictures & Management for her Fox sitcom “New Girl” and her website Hello Giggles.
Seven Summits says that it represented Deschanel from 1996 until 2013.
According to the suit, Deschanel refused to pay a 10 percent commission from Hello Giggles after it was sold in October, and also decided to stop paying “New Girl” commissions in November, in retaliation for being asked for the Hello Giggles commissions.
The suit claims that Deschanel has falsely claimed that her signature was forged on her agreement with the firm, in an effort to avoid paying commissions.
“As an excuse, Deschanel is claiming that the signature on the agreement is not hers, an allegation that is false, as indicated by the fact that Deschanel actually paid commissions pursuant to that agreement for many years,” the lawsuit reads.
The suit also accuses the actress of falsely claiming that Seven Summits obtained work for her when it was not legally allowed to do so — which, even if it were true, Summit contends, “Deschanel’s claim is not a reasonable excuse for deciding to withhold payment for services from a dutiful adviser who worked diligently for 17 years.”
Alleging breach of written contract, the suit is seeking unspecified damages.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.