Rod’s loss in a Los Angeles courtroom was a victory for the concert industry, according to one of the plaintiffs in the case.
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury determined on 12 November that Rod and his booking agency must repay $780,000 in deposits he received for a planned Latin American tour that never came to pass.
“David slew Goliath,” said Howard Pollack, plaintiff in the case and partner in the Oklahoma City-based P.M. Group with Cesar Morales.
The jury also found that Rod’s attorney, law firm, agent and booking agency International Creative Management must pay $1.6 million in damages for their interference with the contract.
The booking had called for Rod to be paid $2.1 million for nine concerts in Central and South America beginning in February 2002. The promoters were to be Pollack and Latin promoters Aquiles Sojo in Argentina and Ricardo Velarde in Peru, along with other South American promoters.
According to Pollack, good faith deposits were paid as negotiations moved forward, but Rod’s handlers ultimately opted out of the tour without repaying the deposits. The promoters filed the lawsuit in July 2002.
“They thought we wouldn’t pursue them, but they were wrong,” Pollack said. “We did pursue them, and we did prevail.”
Louis “Skip” Miller, the attorney representing Stewart and his co-defendants, said he would file an appeal soon, adding that the jury decided there was no contract but still awarded damages.
“I am almost certain this verdict will be overturned,” Miller told Billboard magazine. “You can’t sue a lawyer or an agent for doing their jobs.”
He also believed the refund of the deposit would be reversed “because the plaintiffs didn’t pay it. Howard Pollack never paid a dime. The real parties who paid the deposit never sued.”
Pollack’s camp said he entered a partnership with the South American parties and, through that partnership, paid ICM.
Pollack added that while promoters are generally reluctant to take legal action against artists and managers for fear of repercussions down the road, “a precedent had to be set in the business.”