SiriusXM and Stitcher won't have to deal with a lawsuit from exes Dawson's Creek Star James Van Der Beek accuses them of turning down a $700,000 podcast deal.
Los Angeles Superior Court Robert Brodbeltin a tentative order issued on Friday, dismissed the lawsuit, finding that the audio giant “did not enter into a contract” with the actor after they did not complete the deal.
Van Der Beek said he reached a deal via email with SiriusXM executives to host 40 episodes in exchange for a minimum guarantee of $700,000 and a 50% cut of net ad revenue. He sued in 2022 after the company backed out of the deal.
In ruling in favor of SiriusXM on summary judgment, the court concluded that the two sides are not bound by an April 2022 document outlining the terms of the deal. He pointed to the first page of the proposal, which states it is “for discussion purposes only, is not a binding commitment in any way and should not be construed in any way as a binding commitment to negotiate.”
There was extensive evidence presented to the court that referred to the need to sign a definitive, long-term agreement contemplated in the original proposal. Among them was an email from Stitcher's VP of Business Development Leah Reis-Denniswho stated in an April 2022 email “we're ready to call the terms officially closed and (finally!) begin the long form.”
Van Der Beek argued that the proposal constituted a valid, binding contract because Reis-Dennis made various comments indicating that the terms were “closed.”
“However, in these emails, Reis-Dennis also stated that the defendants would be working to begin drafting the longform agreement or would request that the longform be drafted,” said the order, which noted that his dealing attorney actor was also discussing that he had to sign the document. to seal the deal.
Broadbelt also rejected arguments that SiriusXM should be bound by the April 2022 document because the company has already begun fulfilling some of its terms by starting the process of hiring a senior producer and requesting Van Der Beek's salary information.
In a statement to the court, Reis-Dennis testified that she requested “loan information” in order to set up payments to the actor, but clarified that she would only pay him “if this agreement is signed.”
The decision explained: “Plaintiff has presented no evidence or argument that Reis-Dennis' request for information to determine future payments (1) is inconsistent with prior statements that the parties would be bound only by performance of a long-form agreement or (2) constitutes an outward manifestation that Defendants intended to be bound by the terms of the April 28 Proposal without such a long-form agreement.”
Van Der Beek filed breach of contract claims and sought damages in excess of the $700,000 settlement.
SiriusXM, which was represented by Jordan Shusman of Nolan Heimann, did not respond to a request for comment.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
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