Scene locator owed commission, judge rules
A film scene locator was unfairly squeezed out of a deal he struck with a Marina Del Rey restaurant that will be featured in Jack Nicholson’s upcoming movie, “Anger Management,” a judge ruled last week.
Daniel Hall, owner of L.A. Locations Inc. sued Warehouse Restaurant owner Lee Spencer for $5,000 in Santa Monica Small Claims Court, claiming breach of contract.
Hall, who scopes out properties for possible movie scenes, markets them and then brokers deals between the owners and the film companies, said Spencer cut him out of the deal despite that the two had a contract.
Spencer, the president of Warehouse Restaurant Inc., said he sold the business and therefore the contract is no longer valid. He testified that the new owners decided to deal directly with Sony Pictures instead of using Hall as the broker to have the waterfront restaurant be used for a scene in the film.
But Spencer couldn’t prove that the business had been sold. Even if it had been sold, all liabilities and agreements from the previous ownership would transfer over to the new owners, Judge Pro Tem Don Burris said, who is a business litigator in Santa Monica.
“The business is still active and there is no evidence provided to say otherwise,” Hall said. “Plus, the liabilities transfer over and our contract provided for that anyway.”
Hall said he should have made $20,000 on the deal, but was only asking for $5,000 — the maximum allowed in small claims — “To make everybody’s life easier and hopefully retain (Spencer) as a good client.” He also said hiring an attorney would have cost him about the same as his full commission.
The Warehouse Restaurant was shut down for five days for filming in May and Sony Pictures paid $10,000 a day for the use of the property. According to the contract, Hall was supposed to be paid 25 percent commission and the restaurant collected 75 percent.
Hall said the average stipend film companies pay to shut down a restaurant is between $20,000 and $30,000 a day. Had he brokered the deal, both sides would have been better off, he said.
“I could have easily gotten between $15,000 and $20,000 a day,” Hall said.
Spencer, a graduate of law school, relied on his knowledge of contract law to persuade Judge Pro Tem Burris that he wasn’t obligated to pay Hall since the Warehouse didn’t receive any of the money from the rental — the new owners did.
Judge Pro Tem Burris likened the botched deal to a homeowner who hires a real estate broker to list his property, puts it under contract and then cuts the broker out, leaving him with no commission even though he spent his time, resources and contacts to make it happen.
Spencer agreed to pay Hall $5,000 within seven days with the condition that the contract be torn up. Hall, who has kept Spencer as a client for about a year hopes to salvage the business relationship for future deals.
“I just helped him find his ethics on this one,” Hall said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 17, 2002. Read the original PDF.