Legal liabilities and the law of entertainment

In recent news CBB Consulting is suing Lions Gate alleging that the company owes them $61,500 for unpaid bills for Nicole Kidman Campaign.  Part of the agreement was that CBB was to receive $12,000 per month since August until the Academy Awards.  The contract that was drafted contained a right to terminate with a 5 day written notice which is what Lions Gate exercised. (Hollywoodreporter.com 2011)  Their reason for opting out was for financial reasons since they were disputing with Carl Ichon for control of Lions Gate at the time. 

This particular case is an example of breach of contract that was negotiated with both parties. From my viewpoint it seems that Lions Gate was correct in honoring its right to terminate, but what are undetermined are the services that were rendered.  I believe Lions Gate is responsible for the months of service that CBB provided and should honor that agreement.

Conrad Murray was sentenced today to 4 years in prison for the wrongful death suit of pop star singer Michael Jackson.  Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter three weeks ago since he was reckless in using Propofol to help the singer go to sleep without use of monitoring equipment. (CNN.com 2011)  The type of legal liability is a crime which is defined as is a wrong in which a person intentionally inflicts injury, or takes something from another, such as murder, robbery, rape, theft, and so on. (Thismatter.com 2011)

My opinion in this matter is that I felt the Dr. should have received a longer sentence since it gives a message to the medical community to honor their oath or face the consequences.  It appears that the law leaves room for the elites of society such as bankers, medical professionals and others to receive light sentences for wrongs committed while maximum sentence are pronounced on small petty crimes in the minority neighborhoods.  At what point will justice line up with all people no matter the crime versus who has influence and resources versus who doesn’t.

Kanye West is currently in the news since a songwriter; Vincent Peters is suing him alleging that he stole his song from him.  The song in question is “Stronger” and Vincent stated that Kanye acquired the song through the John Monopoly which is Kanye’s manager. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall dismissed the lawsuit stating under rule 12(b) (6) for failure to state a claim and stating that the parts of the song in question were not protectable under copyright law.  The judge also stated that an ordinary observer could not conclude that Vincent’s song and Kanye’s “Stronger” song were substantially similar.

This would be listed as a tort if it is proven that Kanye copied this song from Vincent knowing that is was protected under copyright but the case ruled otherwise.  I am sure that Kanye and his management team is capable of having their documents together when it comes to purchasing songs from writers as well not being sued for stealing materials. 

These cases intrigue me since you are able to see the various legal liabilities from torts, crime and breach of contract.  It shows the diversity of the law and who wins or loses depending on the scope of the law and what is legally right or wrong.

Reference:

Cnn.com 2011 Conrad Murray Sentenced to 4 Years Behind Bars retrieved from             http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/29/justice/california-conrad-murray-        sentencing/index.html

Hollywoodreporter.com 2011 The Hollywood Reporter retrieved from             http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/nicole-kidman-lionsgate-lawsuit-     unpaid-bill-266611

Thismatter.com 2011 Legal Liability and Negligence retrieved from       http://thismatter.com/money/insurance/legal-liability.htm

Is the media socially responsible or the driving force of consumerism?

Is the media industry the driving force of consumerism?  Have we dismissed our social responsibility for the illusion of fame and fortune?  Is the future of the media industry more concerned with creating consumers who buys into the materialistic lifestyles of fame and fortune?(Ruderfinn.com 2011)

Music videos today are more about cash, cars, boats, high profile friends and the need to be socially accepted.  What happened to the days when we were trying to “Fight the Power” or raise awareness about police brutality and profiling?  I believe that since we have been more concerned with stacking our chips or “letting it rain” we have lost the social message and responsibility and joined the illusion of wealth. (Thefreshexpress.com 2011)

True wealth is not measured in how many cars you drive or how many watches you own but in how many people you help and empower.  Now todays musicians can make the argument that they are creating great music and empowering a generation to “get their hustle on” but is that enough.  Do we empower them to help someone less fortunate than himself or herself or address real issues such as unemployment, poverty and hunger within our own country?

It amazes me that the leaders that preceded us had less to work with but were able to accomplish more.  If Dr. King or Malcolm X had half of the resources and stage that some artist have today, imagine how much more they would have been able to accomplish.  We must understand that we are still in a struggle for equal opportunity on a global scale.  Unemployment continues to rise with the help of outsourcing overseas, education costs increasing introducing students to their real first mortgage in life while we continue living in a consumer driven society.    

It seems that when we had less it empowered us to fight for our position in society.  But as we gain more we fight to display who has more toys.  Will we ever return to music where they raised awareness and caused us to see things clearly or continue down the yellow brick road of consumerism without being socially responsible for others?

References:

Ruderfinn.com 2011 Social Responsibility in the media retrieved from http://www.ruderfinn.com/move/issue-14/social-responsibility-in-the-media.html

TheFreshExpress.com 2011 The Great Debate: Black Entertainers and the social Responsibility
 retrieved from http://thefreshxpress.com/2010/03/great-debate-black-entertainers-and-social-responsibility/