Jon Lovitz Countersued by Club Manager

A roundup of entertainment law news including a Johnny Ramone photograph lawsuit and a "Price is Right" settlement.

Frank Kelley, who managed Jon Lovitz' eponymous Los Angeles comedy club, has filed counterclaims against the comedian.

Last month, Lovitz sued Kelley, alleging that his partner stole money for his own personal use and mismanaged the The Jon Lovitz Comedy Club.

Kelley's retort?

"In this lawsuit," says the counterclaim, "(Lovitz) appears to be channeling one of his most recognizable characters, 'Tommy Flanagan, The Pathological Liar.'"

Kelley blames Lovitz for everything that went wrong with the comedy club.

He says that the two entered into an agreement in 2009 and that Lovitz was to obtain the funds necessary to operate the club, Kelley would manage, and the two would be 50/50 partners.

"From the very beginning, Kelley had great difficult meeting the club's financial obligations due to Lovitz's inability or unwillingness to provide the necessary capital to properly fund the joint venture coupled with the fact that the club's expenses exceeded its revenues."

Among the bad expenses that Kelley cites in his cross-complaint (read in full here... http://www.scribd.com/doc/139099352/Lov-It-z-Counterclaim   ) are "Jon's unilateral and irresponsible decision to spend $210,000 on a TV sign promoting the club and his inexplicably spending approximately $20,000 on a 'Get Happy' advertising campaigning that did not actually reference Jon Lovitz Comedy Club."

In the original lawsuit, Lovitz alleged that Kelley has failed to pay many of the club's performers, choosing instead to keep this money for himself.

Kelley strikes back with a defamation claim against Lovitz for telling performers including Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman that they weren't being paid because the manager had taken their money and was embezzling funds.

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