Richard B. Kendall

The law firm Kendall co-founded in 2009, Kendall Brill & Kelly, has grown into a powerhouse known for its entertainment, legal malpractice and appellate practices.

In mid-August Kendall was sheltering at his second home in Colorado, enduring smoke from a wildfire but far from the pandemic. "We came up here to get away from Covid in L.A. It's safer here," he said. "There's not a single case in Pitkin County. We're 40 miles from the fire. We live in a time when if it's not one thing, it's another: disease, climate or the government. Or all three."

He said managing a 20-lawyer firm with a phone and a laptop has gone smoothly. "Obviously we all miss our daily in-person interactions, but using a lot of Zoom we have managed to stay in close touch."

Kendall remains in the thick of one of Hollywood's most important business practices lawsuits in decades, serving as lead counsel for the talent agency Creative Artists Agency in a dispute with the Writers Guild of America West, the union that represents writers in television and film, over the longstanding practice and negotiation of packaging fees on television and film projects. William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC v. Writers Guild of America West Inc., 2:19-cv-05465 (C.D. Cal., filed June 24, 2019). Trial is set for Aug. 24, 2021.

In April 2020 the court granted Creative Artists Agency and the other plaintiffs' motion to dismiss ten of 12 counterclaims the Writers Guild asserted. Kendall persuaded U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. of Los Angeles to eliminate claims that packaging fees amount to illegal kickbacks and constitute a form of racketeering. In January Kendall defeated the WGA's motion to dismiss the talent agencies' claims. "The union's most inflammatory RICO claims are gone; our affirmative case continues," he said.

Kendall represents two entertainment companies that were the primary financiers of Warren Beatty's 2016 flop movie "Rules Don't Apply" in an $18 million breach of contract suit over a distribution agreement. The defendants agreed to repay Regency for expenses it was unable to recoup from the failed film's proceeds. Regency Entertainment (USA) Inc. v. Tatira 2 LLC, BC687109 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Dec. 12, 2015). The defendant has filed a notice of appeal.

All settled but one. In December 2019 Kendall won at a bench trial against the sole remaining defendant. "The movie tanked and the backers refused to pay despite their guarantee," he said. "At the end of the day, our client got its money back. Getting money out of billionaires isn't easy. That's how they became billionaires."

-- John Roemer