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'The Good Wife' Star Told to Pay Up in Suit by Former Management

By Deanne Katz, Esq. on July 11, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

She may play a good lawyer on TV but that doesn't make Julianna Margulies immune to lawsuits. The Good Wife star was sued by her former management company on Monday for breach of contract.

D/F Management represented Margulies from 2009 until 2011 when she fired them. During that time they helped her land her current role on The Good Wife as well as a lucrative deal as a spokeswoman for L'Oreal according to Deadline Hollywood.

They now claim she owes them $420,000 in unpaid commissions and they want an order entitling them to a continued 10%.

They weren't working for Margulies during any of the time that they claim she owed them money, but they still may have a case.

Margulies and D/F entered into an oral agreement regarding representation, according to the complaint. They allegedly agreed that standard industry practice would govern the compensation arrangement of their deal.

D/F claims that 10% commission for the duration of a role secured by a management company is standard practice. Margulies stopped paying them this amount when they stopped representing her and as a result are claiming breach of contract.

Standard industry practice is often used by courts to fill in missing gaps in employment contracts. Looking to industry practice allows the court to determine fair and independent guidelines. They look to what the majority of people in the industry typically do in a given situation.

If D/F's claims are proven to be industry practice, there is a chance that will affect the outcome of the case.

Of course, the specifics of the deal between D/F Management and Margulies will also be important. Because the deal was allegedly an oral contract it may be difficult to establish the exact terms.

An oral contract can make it difficult to enforce unusual terms and not all states recognize them as binding. When making an employment contract it's a good idea to get it in writing and have an attorney help you sort out the details so the contract is fully enforceable.

The Good Wife star and Emmy-winner was not available for comment about the lawsuit when The Hollywood Reporter attempted to contact her representatives. We just hope being sued won't affect Julianna Margulies' screen time.

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