Entertainment

Drew Heriot’s Complaint Against Rhonda Byrne & The Secret LLC

Excerpted from the original complaint for case 1:08-cv-02272 Heriot et al v. Byrne et al In or around 1998, Heriot formed his own production company – Drew Pictures. Heriot began working with FM-TV, a well-known production company active in the production of television shows, TV and radio commercials, and corporate videos. Heriot quickly gained a reputation within the production community as a talented, creative, and efficient editor. Around 2000, Heriot’s work came to the attention of Defendant Rhonda Byrne and Paul Haltington, two producers who were using FM-TV’s facilities to edit a television show called Australia Behaving Badly. Defendant Byrne was the principal and owner of Prime Time Productions Holdings Pty (Prime Time). Harrington was a television producer employed by Prime Time. Prime Time contracted Heriot’s services as an editor on Australia Behaving Badly and paid for his services. Byrne and Harrington were pleased with Heriot’s work and began using him as the principal editor on Prime Time’s other projects. Prime Time contracted with Drew Pictures for Heriot’s services. In February 2001, Prime Time began working on a new reality television series called Marry Me. Prime Time hired Drew Pictures to work on that project and paid Drew Pictures tor Heriot’s services. In 2002, Byrne asked Heriot to be the director and principal editor of the second season of Marry Me. On March 2, 2002, Heriot was offered a formal Employment Contract with Prime Time for the position of director for eight episodes of the TV show Marry Me, which was subsequently re-named Loves Me. Loves Me Not. Heriot rejected the proposed employment contract. Rather, Drew Pictures continued to perform work as all independent contractor of Prime Time. Neither Heriot nor Drew Pictures have ever been an employee of Prime Time or Byrne. When Loves Me Loves Me Not was completed, Byrne contracted with Drew Pictures to direct Prime Time’s next television series called Sensing Murder. On October 15, 2003, Prime Time and Drew Pictures entered into a Consultancy Agreement for Heriot’s services as a Director of Sensing Murder. The Consultancy Agreement contained no retirement or other traditional employment provisions because “the Consultants’ role is project based with a gross fee paid to the Consultant’s corporate entity for services rendered. This is a mere summary. For the real deal, go to http://www.backgro undnow.com/blog/20 08/08/08/drew-heri ots-complaint-agai nst-rhonda-byrne-t he-secret-llc/.  (Aug 9, 2008 | post #1)

US News

TicketCity Inc. Sold $1,250 Olympics Tickets, But, Ooops, They Don’t Have Any!

http://www.backgro undnow.com/blog/20 08/08/05/ticketcit y-sold-beijing-oly mpics-tickets-that -they-dont-have/ Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today charged an online ticket broker with unlawfully deceiving 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games ticket purchasers. According to the state’s enforcement action, Austin-based TicketCity Inc. initially sold opening ceremonies tickets for $1,250 and promised to double the refund if it failed to deliver the pre-purchased tickets. The defendants initially indicated that purchasers would receive their tickets before the start of the Olympics. Customers, relying on TicketCity guarantees, made hotel reservations and purchased airline tickets to Beijing. According to court documents, TicketCity did not possess the tickets they were selling online. As a result, in March 2008, TicketCity informed customers they would not be receiving their prepaid tickets and that their purchases would not be honored. The company also refused to honor the 200 percent refunds. Meanwhile, TicketCity salespersons continued to offer opening ceremony tickets at dramatically higher prices. According to an Attorney General undercover investigator, TicketCity representatives offered tickets starting at $7,000 each. Under security procedures imposed by the Chinese government, tickets to the opening and closing ceremonies can only be transferred one time after being sold by the ticket vendor. Thus, while the original purchaser can sell his or her ticket, the second purchaser cannot. Further, the final end-user must have his or her personally identifying information, including photo, embedded into the ticket, along with Chinese authorities’ written approval. According to the Chinese news agency Xinhuanet, the final day for transferring opening ceremony tickets was July 14. Despite the restrictions, TicketCity continued to offer tickets for sale as late as July 16. The Attorney General seeks court-ordered civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and awards in actual damages to consumers who were financially harmed. Texans who believe they have been deceived by similar fraudulent business practices may call the Office of the Attorney General’s toll-free complaint line at (800) 252-8011 or file a complaint online at www.texasattorneyg eneral.gov. Read The Lawsuit (PDF)  (Aug 5, 2008 | post #1)