The Hollywood Reporter (Weekly)
Legal War Tears Into a Top Agency
UTA’s CEO contends with a fiery salvo over the terms of his $125 million MediaLink buy
Alegal showdown is brewing between Michael Kassan and UTA over the MediaLink founder’s departure, with the agency saying it fired him for stealing company funds and Kassan claiming that he resigned after being lied to about his responsibilities and privileges at the firm. In an arbitration action initiated by Kassan on March 13 against UTA that names chief executive Jeremy Zimmer, he claims that UTA fraudulently induced him to agree to a sale of MediaLink “only to then walk back the very promises made” regarding what he would oversee at the agency and allowances for his special expenses budget. He resigned on March 6, preempting the agency terminating him the next day. UTA, in a lawsuit filed in L.A. Superior Court the same day Kassan filed for arbitration, accuses Kassan of treating company money as a “personal slush fund.”
In 2021, UTA bought the company for $125 million after an aggressive courting effort given MediaLink’s expertise in the advertising sector. Per the complaint against Kassan, he “almost immediately” began to abuse his authority by using company funds to pay for personal expenses. Among other claims, UTA alleges in the complaint that Kassan further breached his contract by using MediaLink’s bank account to pay nearly $500,000 of personal credit card debt. Other improper expenditures include giving his wife, who is not affiliated with UTA, a company credit card and spending a “small fortune” on luxury travel, per the lawsuit. Kassan tells a different story. According to him, the agency, in violation of representations made to him, “concocted a scheme” to silo MediaLink and slashed its marketing spend. On allegations that he improperly spent company funds, Kassan claims that he was transparent about his spending, the level of which was agreed upon when Kassan agreed to sell MediaLink to UTA.
UTA’s lawsuit against Kassan, who waived his nearly $10 million severance payment by resigning, will likely be moved into arbitration, per the partner services agreement. He’s expected to move for sanctions over the agency filing in the improper venue, a source tells THR. If the case does proceed in court, however, it could possibly unearth whether UTA reneged on promises made to Kassan in pursuing the merger. Any revealed correspondence will be closely watched inside the agency, and by its rivals.