Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer United Talent Agency has been accused of breach of contract and fraud in relation to its 2021 acquisition of the consultancy firm MediaLink.
MediaLink founder and UTA partner Michael Kassan, whose exit from the company nearly a week ago has not yet been reported, claims that UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer and two other top executives engaged in bad faith in the absorption and management of his company, according to documents filed with mediation service JAMS which Variety reviewed.
This led Kassan to resign last week, the filing says. Through a spokesperson, UTA said it had fired Kassan for cause following an “an exhaustive third-party investigation into misappropriation of company funds,” and has taken legal action against him in Los Angeles (Variety could find no such filing at press time).
MediaLink is a prominent but not easily defined agency that sits at the intersection of tech, entertainment and media. They’re known for hosting lavish and popular parties at events like the Cannes Lion festival and global editions of CES.
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