WWFE Pins Lawsuit on Talent Agency
World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc. sued the William Morris Agency, saying it should not pay commissions on the company’s new contract with Viacom Inc., its fledgling XFL football league, and its highly rated “SmackDown” wrestling show.
The suit says William Morris in 1997 “exploited its unequal bargaining power” to force the WWFE to sign an agency contract that was “grossly” unfair to the Stamford, Conn.-based entertainment company.
A William Morris official declined comment. The WWFE recently left William Morris for Endeavor.
According to the complaint, William Morris last month threatened to sue the WWFE if it denied the agents their commissions.
The WWFE has now asked U.S. District Judge Richard Berman to declare that the agency has no right to commissions and that the WWFE’s contract with William Morris is void.
A Delaware judge in June gave the WWFE permission to jump from USA Networks Inc. to Viacom’s CBS unit after a contract fight in which USA Networks failed to match Viacom’s offer for the rights to the WWFE’s cable television shows.
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