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A former executive at Jennifer Lopez‘s production company has sued claiming he was pushed out and mistreated by well-known producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Brian Schornak, who says he was a senior producer and executive at Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions, calls Goldsmith-Thomas a “tyrant” who was hired by Lopez and then conspired to demote him, berate him and falsely accuse him of stealing before orchestrating his termination from the company.
Goldsmith-Thomas is a well-known manager and producer who until March worked at the high-profile 3 Arts management company. It’s unclear what role Goldsmith-Thomas was playing at Lopez’s company or if she was officially employed there. She is not a defendant in the suit, which targets Nuyorican. Attempts to reach Nuyorican were not immediately successful. Goldsmith-Thomas’ attorney declined to comment.
Regardless of her status at Nuyorican, Schornak claims she wanted him out.
“Elaine suggested that Plaintiff was taking improper actions at the company, including getting paid monies directly from MTV for one of the Nuyorican shows, when in fact, all Elaine had to do was look at Plaintiff’s contract and she would have seen that this point was specifically negotiated and included in Plaintiff’s contract,” the complaint alleges.
Subsequently, according to the lawsuit, Schornak was demoted and relieved of duties on two projects — The Fosters and South Beach Tow — on which he was a key executive.
The complaint, which alleges causes of action for breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and violations of the California labor code, seeks unspecified damages. It was filed by attorney Stephen Kernan.
Email: Matthew.BellonI@thr.com
Twitter: @THRMattBelloni
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