As a seasoned gamer with countless hours spent navigating the treacherous waters of corporate politics and power struggles, I must say this latest saga between R&CPMK and 2PM Sharp feels eerily reminiscent of an epic battle in my favorite MMO. The stakes are high, the players are cunning, and there’s a whole lot of backstabbing going on.
A dispute over promotional tactics has arisen between competing advertising agencies, as established agency R&CPMK alleges that upstart firm 2PM Sharp has illegally hired staff, stolen clients, and obtained sensitive data from them.
In two separate lawsuits filed in California and New York state courts on Wednesday, R&CPMK asserts that the original partners of 2PM Sharp deliberately instigated a large-scale exit of employees. These workers, according to the lawsuit, collaborated to steer the company’s business towards their fresh venture. The firm is seeking unspecified compensation and a court injunction preventing 2PM Sharp from soliciting R&CPMK clients for a year, along with other remedies.
According to the accusation, the main objective is evident: to kick-start 2PM Sharp’s fresh business venture through illegal means. The allegation also mentions that R&CPMK could potentially face significant financial losses due to the potential loss of clientele.
In Hollywood, it’s common to find stories involving acts of betrayal. Back in 2015, CAA took legal action against UTA over the departure of a team of comedy agents. They referred to the sudden resignation of multiple staff members as an “unlawful late-night heist.” More recently this year, CAA has accused Range of illegally obtaining confidential data with the intention of luring clients away from them.
Rogers & Cowan/PMK is an influential agency that manages over 400 notable figures across various fields such as music, acting, production, direction, content creation, and sports. These prominent individuals include Denzel Washington, Sandra Bullock, Michael B. Jordan, Brie Larson, Olivia Wilde, Jamie Foxx, Katy Perry, Glenn Close, Emma Thompson, Jerry Bruckheimer, John David Washington, Keanu Reeves, Kate Hudson, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, and Kevin Costner. Established in 2019, it came into being following the merger of sister firms PMK*BNC and Rogers & Cowan, with Cindi Berger serving as its chairman.
This year, the company suffered a significant setback when its former CEO, Mark Owens (mentioned in the lawsuit), was dismissed. Subsequently, he established 2PM Sharp, an initiative which several others, including co-presidents Jeff Raymond and Lindsay Galin, chose to participate in.
The lawsuit details some of the departing employees’ conduct in the days before their resignations from R&CPMK. It claims that Owen began efforts to divert business and employees to 2PM Sharp in late 2023, starting with Raymond and Galin. He received his termination notice in January for reasons not disclosed in the complaint, with his last day in March. He registered a domain name for 2PM Sharp in May and formed the company less than two months later.
Over three consecutive October days, I found myself among 13 colleagues making the decision to part ways with R&CPMK. As this wave of departures swept through, we started receiving notices from our clients – those who had been under the care of our leaving coworkers – that they were terminating their contracts with our firm. One colleague even reportedly sent an email to Owens, listing the clients she intended to bring along in her departure.
Before leaving the company, it is claimed that Raymond illegally obtained over 11,000 internal files in addition to the 5,000 files allegedly taken by former employees during their exit, as stated in the lawsuit.
The supposedly stolen data encompasses various aspects such as bid proposals, research on emerging technologies, sales and expansion plans, employee compensation, contact details for media outlets, project prospects, and trends. R&CPMK claims that 2PM Sharp, who did not respond to a request for comment, now possesses a strategic guide or plan (referred to as a “playbook”) on how to attract and serve clients. This playbook could potentially be used to undermine R&CPMK’s business. Regarding this matter, Cindi Berger, chairman of R&CPMK, declined to comment as the case is still under legal proceedings.
As a gamer, I’d rephrase that like this: “According to the lawsuit, Owens asked his ex-colleagues to reach out to our mutual contacts, seemingly ignoring our contractual and legal responsibilities.
In their time with R&CPMK, the departing employees had agreed to confidentiality and non-compete clauses in their contracts. However, it is alleged that these agreements have been violated. For instance, the employment agreement prohibits former workers from approaching current staff or providing services to the firm’s clients for a year following termination.
As an avid follower, I’m sharing that R&CPMK has filed a lawsuit asserting various claims, including breach of contract, breach of trust, disruptive behavior (tortious interference), unethical competition, and receiving undeserved benefits (unjust enrichment), among others.
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2024-11-28 02:25