Legal Question in Entertainment Law in New York

Re: Personal manager verbal contract?

You have several things working in your favor, but it's impossible to answer you more fully without all the facts. If you'd like to contact me, feel free.

Re: Personal manager verbal contract?

This really is a classic "it depends" question. You state that you did have an agreement for 90 days with a 3 year renewal clause. The first thing you need to do is look to the renewal clause and see if it was an automatic renewal (without signing) or required an additional writing.

Even if the renewal clause required an additional writing, there is a case that could be made for "action and reliance." In other words, you operated for such a long time without having signed a contract, a case could be made for your conduct being the agreement to be bound by the contract.

There is also the possibility that there could be an "oral agreement", as you note. The question would be, however, what were the terms and conditions? The most reasonable place for the courts to look would be to the agreement, even though it was not executed.

Finally, there could be a finding that there was no contract, but that the management company did perform services for which they should be compensated. The legal term is "quantum meruit" (have to throw in Latin were we can). In deciding what the worth of the work was, the court would once again look to the contract.

The real questions is - do you want to terminate the relationship? If so, then I suggest that you get an attorney involved. These can be complicated negotiations with such niceties as "overrides", "sunset provisions" and "de-escalation clauses." I should hasten to add the self-serving statement that you should always have an attorney reviewing your agreements before you enter into them. A good attorney will know the field and the tricks of the trade, and will get you the best deal possible. If you fly solo, you could end up on VH1's "Behind the Scenes" as the latest horror story.