'Friends' Star Lisa Kudrow vs. Former Manager, The Latter to Get $1.6 million Lawsuit Paycheck
The California Jury sided with Lisa Kudrow's former manager, ordering the "Friends" star to pay a whopping $1.6 million for legal damages.
Scott Howard, Kudrow's manager of 16 years was favoured by the Los Angeles County Superior Court, stating that the actress was liable for a contract breach. Howard sued the actress for not paying a percentage of her earnings amounted more than $50,000 in 2008. Kudrow's former manager presented before the court with a claim that he had an oral agreement with the star to give him 10 percent share of her income while he was working with her as manager.
Howard and Lisa Kudrow worked together from 1991 to 2007. Howard claims that after the split, the actress stopped paying him. Kudrow on the other hand, contested the claim, saying before the court that she already paid her former manager more than $11 million before they ended their professional ties.
Kudrow, 50, played the role of Phoebe on "Friends." In a court testimony, Kudrow was said to start earning $13,500 per episode of the sitcom. In an ABC report, the star was said to be the lowest paid cast on the show, but for the last 18 episodes, her paycheck soared to more than $1 million per episode.
Lisa Kudrow continues to receive a percentage for the re-runs of the popular sitcom, and her former manager demanded a post-termination cut since they worked together while she was on "Friends." According to Hollywood Reporter the star faced the court for about two hours wherein her "earnings had been thoroughly discussed.
The actress's lawyer noted that Howard is not entitled for a commission, for he was her manager and not an agent.
"My intention was I didn't think it was fair that Scott got more than the agents," said Kudrow. "I felt like the attorneys did so much towards making these deals that it seemed fair that no one got a higher share than the attorney," she added.
The court verdict has been handed down ordering the actress to compensate Howard for past and future damages. However, the case does not end yet. Kudrow and her lawyer, Gerald Sauer is reported to appeal with the court's decision on the $1.6 million lawsuit.