Agency for talent CAA charges rival company founders A variety of "spy novel" plots to start rival companies

 

Hollywood Heist? CAA Accuses Rival Range of "Spy Novel" Tactics in Escalating Legal Battle

The already simmering legal feud between talent agency giant CAA and upstart rival Range Media Partners has boiled over this week, as CAA dramatically ramped up its lawsuit with explosive new allegations. What was once a bitter dispute over competitive practices has now taken on the dramatic flair of a spy thriller, with CAA accusing Range's founders of employing "spy-novel tropes" to pilfer confidential information and gain an unfair advantage.

Range Media Partners, launched in 2020 by a team of former CAA agents, is now facing accusations that its genesis was less about entrepreneurial spirit and more about espionage. According to CAA's amended legal filing, Range's founders allegedly acted like secret agents, not talent agents, in their meticulous planning to lift crucial data from their former employer and then diligently cover their tracks.

The new evidence cited by CAA reads like something out of a John le Carré novel: "Newly uncovered video footage, documents, photographs and secret Telegram chats reveal an extensive plot by Range’s founders to steal from CAA, set up an illegal talent agency and cover up its wrongdoing," states the filing, as reported by Deadline. The lawsuit further claims that Range's founders utilized "ephemeral messaging" apps like Signal and Telegram, along with "'alternate' and 'burner' cell phones," all designed "to avoid detection and eliminate digital fingerprints." CAA insists this alleged conspiracy was fueled by "greed, hubris, the lure of shortcuts and a willingness to betray trusting colleagues."

Range, for its part, vehemently denies these sensational claims. A legal representative for the company dismissed CAA's lawsuit as "baseless," driven by "resentment," and motivated by "bruised egos and petty vengeance." They assert that Range's founders did not "steal any trade secrets or anything else belonging to CAA" and that Range is focused on "working collaboratively with CAA at large to service the 150+ clients they share."

This legal saga began last year when CAA first sued Range, alleging a scheme to gain an "unlawful competitive edge" that started while key Range founders — Jack Whigham, David Bugliari, Michael Cooper, and Mick Sullivan — were still employed at CAA. Peter Micelli, another founder, had a two-year stint elsewhere before Range's launch. CAA's original suit claimed breaches of contractual obligations and violations of business confidentiality laws. The recent "boosted" filing adds new claims under California’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act and Penal Code, detailing allegedly stolen assets like confidential client and revenue lists, meeting notes, casting information, and even confidential scripts.

Complicating matters, CAA's initial lawsuit also contended that Range positioned itself as a management company rather than a talent agency partly to sidestep direct competition claims and avoid certain California regulations applicable to talent agencies.

As this dramatic legal battle unfolds, the entertainment industry is watching closely. Will CAA's "spy novel" claims hold up in court, or will Range successfully argue that CAA's actions are simply a retaliatory act from a scorned competitor? One thing is for sure: the drama behind the scenes in Hollywood is proving to be just as captivating as any on-screen production.