A blockbuster legal battle is brewing in Hollywood.
Artist giant CAA (Creative Artist Agency) files a lawsuit against the agency Scope media partners This week, the company was accused of “stealing confidential information” ahead of the latter’s launch in 2020.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday (September 30), also claims that Range is “an unlicensed artist management company built on deception.”
The lawsuit, which you can read in full here , further claims that Range’s founder and former CAA agent “sought shortcuts to success.” Micheli, “Identified four highly paid CAA leaders as his co-conspirators” and then “implemented a scheme designed to provide Range with an illegal competitive advantage.”
The former agents named in the lawsuit are Jack Whigham, David Bugliari, Michael Cooper and Mick Sullivan. , they allegedly posed as “loyal CAA members” and sat in “confidential CAA meetings regarding clients and business” while “secretly” working to benefit Range and themselves and to the detriment of CAA.
Range Media Partners was founded by Micelli in 2020 after leaving CAA in 2018.
Today, Range manages talent in the music, film, sports and television industries. The company represents superstars including Bradley Cooper, Keira Knightley, Tom Hardy, M. Nightmaran, Michael Bay, Jack Harlow, PartyNextDoor, Midland , Cordae, Bazzi, Sean Douglas and most recently Rita Ora.
In April, Range received minority investment from investors including Liberty Global and the family office of TPG Chairman David Bonderman.
CAA 在訴訟中聲稱，雖然Range 的創始人公開宣佈於2020 年8 月推出該產品，但“事實上，到2020 年8 月”，Micelli 和其他前CAA 特工“花了數月時間從CAA 竊取機密information”.
The lawsuit also alleges that former CAA agents “colluded with Micelli to induce other CAA employees (whom the Range founders knew had a duty of confidentiality and loyalty to CAA) to assist in the theft of CAA’s confidential information.”
The lawsuit adds: “Range founders knew they were engaging in wrongdoing and attempted to cover their tracks to avoid getting caught: urging more junior CAA employees to download encrypted messaging apps to avoid CAA detecting their communications, and instructing CAA Employees exported confidential information for transmission to the personal email accounts and cell phones of certain co-conspirators, who did this while serving as senior CAA leaders and talent agents.
In addition to accusing Range of stealing confidential information, CAA also accused Range Media Partners of acting as a talent agency, but the label circumvented California regulations.[ling itself a management company” and is also alleged to be “engage[ing] Foreclosed on law-abiding talent agency in lucrative deal”.
The California Staffing Agency Act requires staffing agencies to be licensed by the California Labor Commissioner.
The CAA complaint alleges that a 2020 email sent by Range’s current partners “suggests that Range is seeking to exploit the ‘grey area’ between talent agents and managers.”
“By not registering as an agency, Range was able to circumvent rules designed to protect its customers,” CAA said in the lawsuit. “For the co-conspirators, they could claim not to compete with CAA and try to continue to receive a share of CAA’s profits even if they were Efforts to damage CAA).
In addition to allegedly serving as unlicensed agents, CAA also accuses Range and former CAA agents of “engaging in a series of unlawful conduct that violated California Business and Professions Code Section 17200 and other legal obligations.”
CAA is asking the court for an injunction directing Range to return its confidential information and “barring” Range:
“Using or disclosing CAA’s confidential information; (2) Using confidential information to illegally solicit CAA’s investors, clients, and customers; (3) Illegally requesting confidential information from Civil Aviation Administration staff; (4) Illegal violation of TAA and not Authorized by the Writers Guild of America to represent WGA members.
CAA is also seeking damages and a jury trial.
Over the past four years, Range Media Partners has become a well-known name in the music industry.
In September 2023, Range launched a music publishing division, led by Casey Robison, former executive vice president of A&R at Hipgnosis Songs Group.
Last week, Range Music Publishing signed an exclusive global management agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group.
In June 2021, Range Media signed global distribution deals with Capitol Music Group (CMG) and Virgin Music & Artist Label Services.global music business
