Anthony "Tony" J. Oncidi

When employees and companies go their separate ways, attorneys like Oncidi help make sure they're parting on the right terms.

Companies on the rise usually find a sudden need for executives, and an already established competitor's administrative roster might seem like a good place to start. But violating the terms of a contract can make the difference between a savvy hire and an employee poaching claim, Oncidi said.

Currently, Oncidi serves as lead counsel in lawsuits brought against Netflix Inc. by Viacom Inc. and other studios that claim the streaming company -- a self-labelled industry "disruptor" -- deliberately and maliciously interfered with high-level executive employee contracts throughout the entertainment industry.

Netflix hired away Viacom executive Momita Sengupta in October 2018 well before the expiration of her employment deal, according to a widely-reported complaint filed by Oncidi on behalf of Viacom. Viacom International Inc. v. Netflix Inc., 18STCV00296 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Oct. 5, 2018)

Netflix was aware of the contract but tortuously induced Sengupta to breach the agreement anyway, the complaint alleges.

Netflix argued the hiring was allowable under the "seven-year rule" of the California Labor Code, which holds that a contract for personal services may not be enforced against an employee beyond seven years from the commencement of service. Netlix reasoned the rule would apply even in cases where employment spanned over several individual contracts, Oncidi said, even if the more recent contracts include terms of employment spanning beyond the seven-year mark.

In short, Oncidi said, Netflix wanted to turn the labor code rule into "a simple math problem." It's hardly the only case of his of late that's revolved around a misinterpretation of the seven -ear rule. Oncidi represents longtime client Creative Artists Agency in a major clash with its competitor United Talent Agency over alleged administrative poaching involving the seven-year rule.

The Viacom case isn't even his only seven-year rule case against Netflix. He represents -- among others -- Twentieth Century Fox Inc. in a similarly filed case. Oncidi celebrated a recent victory in that lawsuit as the first major blow against companies that have tried to creatively invoke the labor code.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Marc D. Gross in early June rejected as a matter of law Netflix's argument that the labor code was, as Oncidi put it, a matter of a simple math problem.

"The same issue is at play in those cases," Oncidi said, "the argument being that a third party can hire someone under contract for more than seven years, but under separate contracts. So long as the year-to-year contracts, if added together, equal seven or more, the employee gets to just walk out."

-- Steven Crighton