Rod Stewart’s Agent, Lawyer Win Appeal

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — A 2004 $1.6 million ruling against Rod Stewart’s attorneys and agents has been overturned by a Los Angeles Appeals Court, but the judge affirmed a judgment for $780,000 in deposits received for a 2002 tour that never took place.

The decision follows an appeal from a November 2004 verdict in favor of concert promoter Howard Pollack’s PM Group and two subpromoters. At the time, the jury found Stewart’s manager, Annie Challis with Steigal Entertainment, and Stewart’s agent, Steve Levine with ICM, liable for not returning a $780,000 deposit and for negligent misrepresentation, according to Billboard.biz.

The jury also found that Stewart and Pollack never entered into a binding contract, but still found Levine and Stewart’s attorney, Barry Tyerman of Armstrong Hirsch Jackoway Tyerman & Wertheimer, liable for $1.6 million for intentionally interfering with subcontracts for Stewart’s concerts.

Pollack began negotiations with Levine in 2001 for a Latin America tour, and had subpromoters lined up in each of the cities for the proposed Stewart tour. One of them arranged for $100,000 to be deposited into ICM’s trust account to demonstrate good faith, according to Billboard. Pollack then agreed with Levine and Challis on a multi-city tour for $2.1 million, with half due on signing a formal contract. Pollack then entered several subcontracts with the subpromoters for Stewart’s concerts.

While various drafts of the main contract were being exchanged between Stewart’s attorney, Tyerman, and PM Group, the subpromoters made several additional deposits. Eventually negotiations broke down, and the tour never happened.

Pollack and two subpromoters sued for the return of the $780,000 deposit, and claimed intentional interference with the subpromoters’ contracts. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers