Brockhaus v. Gallego Basteri

188 F. Supp. 3d 306, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66145, 2016 WL 2930969
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMay 19, 2016
Docket15-cv-2707 (KBF)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 188 F. Supp. 3d 306 (Brockhaus v. Gallego Basteri) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brockhaus v. Gallego Basteri, 188 F. Supp. 3d 306, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66145, 2016 WL 2930969 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

KATHERINE B. FORREST, District Judge

This case involves a dispute arising out of a July 2012 personal services contract between defendant Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (“Miguel” or “defendant”), a world-renowned music artist, and plaintiff William . Brockhaus (“Brockhaus” or “plaintiff’), for Brockhaus to serve as Miguel’s personal manager.

[308]*308Brockhaus brings this action to recover the following: 1) payment for personal services provided during the period between April 1, 2012 and June 30, 2012, under a quantum meruit theory; and 2) compensation owed to him under the contract for the period between July 1, 2012 up to termination, which plaintiff alleges was October 10, 2014, and defendant June 30, 2014.

The Court held a bench triál on December 16, 2015, at which plaintiff and William Zysblat, Miguel’s business manager and accountant, testified.1 The Court also received into evidence thirty-one documentary exhibits. On January 6, 2016, the parties submitted post-trial briefing. This Opinion & Order constitutes the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 52.

I. FINDINGS OF FACT2

A. Key People and Relationships

Defendant Miguel is a world-renowned, award-winning Latin music singer. He regularly performs concerts around the world. (Brockhaus Deck ¶¶ 2, 41.) Miguel has traditionally used a combination of corporate entities and personnel to handle the business aspects of his performances. (Brockhaus Deck ¶ 48; Zysblat Deck ¶¶ 2-8, 25-27.) Miguel established Lion Productions, Inc. (“Lion Productions”) to contract for his performances and to receive funds from those performances. (Zysblat Deck ¶¶ 3, 15, 21.) Lion Productions contracts with concert promotors and, generally, receives payment for performances and makes any necessary deductions. (Brock-haus Deck ¶ 47; Zysblat Deck ¶¶ 14-15.) It receives Miguel’s touring income and that of a five-to seven-member mariachi band, backup singers, and dancers who accompany him. (Zysblat Deck ¶¶ 20-21.) Lion Productions also pays all expenses associated with Miguel’s tours, including paying sound and light costs, supporting performers, and crew. (Zysblat Deck ¶ 24.) Among the expenses paid by Lion Productions are amounts owed to Miguel for his performances.3 (Brockhaus Deck ¶ 47; Zysblat Deck ¶¶ 18-19.)

Since 2004, Miguel has used William Zysblat and Zysblat’s firm RZO, LLC as his business manager and accountant.4 (Tr. 75:15-19.)5 Zysblat insures that Miguel receives income due and pays amounts owed to others. (Zysblat Deck ¶¶ 7, 8, 35; Brock-haus Deck ¶ 20.)

Over the years, Miguel has also employed a personal manager. The personal manager has functioned as Miguel’s eyes and ears for tours and performances, handling, inter alia, travel arrangements and [309]*309issues that may arise with regard to a particular venue. (Brockhaus Decl. ¶¶ 9-10, 15-16; Miguel Dep. Tr. 10:19-11:7.) The weight of the evidence is clear that Miguel did not delegate general authority to contract for a performance to his personal manager; and the personal manager also does not handle financial aspects of performances. (PX 1 ¶ 5(c); Brockhaus Decl. ¶¶ 16,19.)

This lawsuit concerns a payment claim by William Brockhaus, an individual who served as Miguel’s personal manager in 2012-2013. Alejandro Asensi functioned as Miguel’s personal manager prior to plaintiff Brockhaus. (PX 1; PX 2; Brockhaus ¶ 10.)

B. Chronology of Events

Plaintiff Brockhaus has known Miguel for nearly twenty years. (Brockhaus Decl., ¶ 4.) Plaintiffs wife and Miguel have been friends, since childhood. (Id.)

In August 2011, while they were on vacation together, Miguel asked Brockhaus, who was then employed as a sales executive for an auto manufacturing company, to serve as his personal manager to replace Asensi. (Brockhaus Decl. ¶¶ 7, 10, 15-16, PX 1; PX 2; Miguel Dep. 10:19-11:7.) During this initial conversation, Miguel and Brockhaus’s discussion concerning compensation was general, but the evidence supports that they discussed that Brock-haus would be paid in the same manner as Asensi. (Brockhaus Decl. ¶ 10.) The evidence was also clear that Miguel did riot, in fact, know how Asensi was paid. For instance, in giving Brockhaus an example of how he believed commissions would be calculated, he told Brockhaus that he would be paid a 10% commission based on his (Miguel’s) performance income and that if “his last tour grossed $50 million ... I would make $5 million,” or a 10% commission. (Brockhaus Decl. ¶ 10; Tr. 20:17-20.) As it turned out, the evidence at trial was unambiguous that no personal manager had ever been paid according to such a methodology (e.g., a straight commission; that is, based solely on gross performance income without deductions), and Brockhaus never expected to be paid in this way.6

Brockhaus accepted Miguel’s offer. (Brockhaus Decl. ¶ 11.) While the parties would eventually sign a contract in September 2012 (effective July 2012), Brock-haus began providing certain services in October 2011 but continued to be employed in his prior job until April 2012. (Brockhaus Decl. ¶¶ 12,13,17.) Asensi also continued to be employed as Miguel’s personal manager until the end of June 2012. (Zysblat Decl. ¶ 48; Tr. 58:4-8, 58:16-23.)

In this lawsuit, plaintiff has asserted a claim for quantum meruit relating to payment for this period between April 2012, when he quit his prior job, and June 30, 2012, when his contract with Miguel became effective. Plaintiff has failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that anyone agreed to pay him or expected that he would be paid for any services prior to Asensi’s formal termination, and prior to the execution of plaintiffs contract. Instead, the weight of the evidence demonstrates that there was never any expectation of payment for that initial period. The evidence in this regard is, inter alia, the following: Zysblat testified credibly that as of October 2011, there was no agreement—contractual or otherwise— that plaintiff would be compensated for his [310]*310provision of services at this ■ time. (Tr. 57:20-23.) Rather, Brockhaus, Zysblat and Miguel viewed Brockhaus as providing his services as a favor to Miguel, and to enable Brockhaus to learn the job. (Zysblat Decl. ¶ 47; Tr. 64:25-65:8.) There is no evidence that Brockhaus informed anyone that he expected to be paid during this period. (Tr. 84:22-24.) In addition, Asensi, the prior personal manager, remained under contract and was still working for Miguel. (Zysblat Tr. ¶ 48; Tr. 58:4-8, 16-23.) There is no evidence that Miguel ever agreed to pay “double” commissions for Asensi and Brockhaus for the period in which Asensi’s contract had not yet expired. (Zysblat Decl. ¶ 48; Tr. 66:20-24, 67:4-11.) Asensi continued to work until June 2012 and continued to earn commissions under his contract. Asensi was “constantly in touch” with Zysblat “about what dates we’re earning, what he was do[ing], accountings” and “calling ahead to make sure arrangements were in place.” (Tr. 58:4-23.)

C. The Contract

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
188 F. Supp. 3d 306, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66145, 2016 WL 2930969, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brockhaus-v-gallego-basteri-nysd-2016.