UTA Engaging In “Character Assassination & Mudslinging,” Michael Kassan Claims; Agency Drops Bulk Of Claims Against MediaLink CEO, Tries To Move Dispute To Arbitration

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: If you thought the multi-million-dollar war of words and legal filings between UTA and former Medialink CEO Michael Kassan had been bare knuckles before, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.

As the LA Superior Court docket sags under the weight of documents being filed in the fallout of Kassan leaving UTA earlier this month, the man himself is accusing CEO Jeremey Zimmer and the agency of “low-rent tactics” by dredging up past indiscretions and bad business dealings – and Kassan’s coming out of the corner swinging. “With UTA having no legal leg to stand on in its quest to prevent me from competing, they are now resorting to trying to tarnish my reputation,” Kassan told Deadline today.

UTA on March 21 suddenly dropped its fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims of a week before against the ex-agency partner.

Hoping to push the whole thing to arbitration, the agency and its lawyers are now centering on trying to have the courts stop Kassan from setting up a new rival strategic advisory company (read UTA’s amended complaint here). “As such, Jeremy Zimmer is now going to pursue his campaign of attempted character assassination and mudslinging—this time by shining a light on decades-old lawsuits and assertions of financial malfeasance, improperly spun, and omitting some very important details,” Kassan added, going into detail about a number of incidents from his not stain free history. “UTA is doing what it can to plant news articles regarding these decades-old issues.” “As you read UTA’s desperate tabloid attacks, please note that nothing they say has anything to do with why I resigned,” Kassan adds, citing a “litany of contract breaches” as the real cause of his March 6 exit.