Paul Walker’s Manager Sues Over Unpaid Commissions
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Paul Walker’s manager filed a lawsuit on Friday alleging that he has not been paid his 5% commission on the late actor’s earnings.
Matt Luber filed the suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, saying the litigation gives him “no pleasure” in light of his “enduring history and friendship” with Walker.
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Walker, star of Universal’s “Fast and Furious” franchise, died in a car crash in November 2013 at the age of 40. According to the complaint, Walker’s loan-out company, Vagrant, Inc., continued to pay Luber’s 5% commission for another five years.
However, the suit states that Vagrant recently came under new management and has stopped paying.
“Plaintiffs are at a total loss as to why they are now being forced to litigate given the history of friendship and mutual success,” the suit states. “Sadly, the new ‘leadership’ of Vagrant has decided to brush aside the representatives who cared most about Mr. Walker during his life, and dutifully looked out for his personal and professional interests, simply to shave a line item off their balance sheet.”
The suit states that Vagrant’s attorney assured Luber in mid-2019 that the company had no reason to dispute his claims, but that the board had an obligation to verify it. In a subsequent communication, the attorney said he was trying to get the board to consent to paying Luber, the suit states.
Vagrant has since failed to respond to a demand for an accounting, according to the complaint.
According to Vagrant’s articles of incorporation, Walker’s 21-year-old daughter, Meadow, is secretary of the loan-out company. The president is Sharon C. Kennedy, an estate attorney in Goleta, Calif.
Reached by phone on Friday, Kennedy said she knew nothing of the lawsuit and hung up.
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