The New York Times-20080129-Court Backs Law Banning Managers As Agents

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Court Backs Law Banning Managers As Agents

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The California Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld a lower court's ruling that the state's Talent Agencies Act prohibits managers from procuring jobs for their celebrity clients. But the court weakened the penalty for managers who flout the law.

The decision involved a long-simmering dispute between the actress Rosa Blasi and her former manager, Rick Siegel. Mr. Siegel, the president of Marathon Entertainment, sued Ms. Blasi in 2003 for unpaid commissions. Citing the Talent Agencies Act, Ms. Blasi said that Mr. Siegel had procured jobs for her illegally and she was not required to pay him.

Agents are licensed by the state to obtain jobs on behalf of clients; managers are not licensed and are supposed to stick to providing career advice. For years, California courts have ruled that managers found in violation of the act are automatically ineligible for commissions.

On Monday, the court took away the automatic part, saying that the state's labor commissioner could sever the illegal action from the broader employment contract. In short, managers may be entitled to some payment even if they line up jobs illegally.

Mr. Siegel cheered the decision. This is a major victory, not only for Marathon, but for all personal managers, he said in a statement.

Michael J. Plonsker, a lawyer for Ms. Blasi, said, We are disheartened that the court has seen fit to strip the act of the deterrent mechanism, which he said had stood for 40 years.