Johnny Depp, well known American actor, musician and producer, filed suit last Friday in the Los Angeles Superior Court against his former business managers.
Johnny Depp, well known American actor, musician and producer, filed suit last Friday in the Los Angeles Superior Court against his former business managers alleging they grossly mishandled his income throughout the course of his career. He is seeking more than $25 million, roughly $33 million sources report, from The Management Group and its owners, Robert and Joel Mandel, claiming the company engaged in a variety of activities the actor was not privy to and did not authorize, such as making unapproved loans and failing to properly file his annual taxes. Depp’s suit states the company and its owners received $28 million in payments for their services over approximately 16 years and that they concealed the dire state of Depp’s finances, lending to his money troubles. The actor claims he was not aware of just how badly things had gotten, because The Management Group had reassured him he had sufficient funds. Depp claims to have only learned of the mishandling after hiring a new management company in March 2016.
The 52 page complaint, which comes conveniently after Depp’s judgement of divorce has been issued, states the misfiling of Depp’s income taxes ended up costing the actor $5.7 million in penalties. Depp’s ex wife, actress Amber Heard, accused her husband of domestic violence, and he has been ordered to pay her $7 million in installments, which she will ultimately donate to charities. The judgement allowed Depp to keep most of the couple’s properties, but Heard is rumored to be hanging onto the couple’s dogs and a beloved horse. Heard and Depp entered into a confidentially agreement which prohibits them from discussing their relationship with the media or posting comments on their social media sites.
Depp hired The Management Group in 1999 and, at the time, he did not specify the company’s compensation in a written contract. Instead, the suit states the company received five percent of his income from three of the actor’s hit movies — the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland.
Michael J. Kump is representing The Management Group and insists the actor’s own excessive spending is to blame for his losses. The attorney claims Depp’s managers did everything they could to counteract the actor’s irresponsible spending, helping the actor to secure loans to cover his expenses. Kump states that Depp actually owes The Management Group $4.2 million from a $5 million loan issued to the actor which is pending default. He is confident that the documentation will speak for itself and the actor will be forced into repaying the money he owes.
Depp recently partook in the prequel to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, despite protesting fans who did not want the actor involved in the project. He also has a part in The Invisible Man, based on one of Universal Film’s notorious monster characters, which is due out in 2018, and Depp will be featured as a voice of Sherlock Gnomes, in Gnomeo & Juliet, set to release next year.
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