A legal fight is taking shape between Paramount and the high-stakes gambler who sparked an internal investigation and SEC inquiry into whether company president Jeff Shell prematurely disclosed details of a $7.7 billion UFC media rights deal.
At the heart of the matter: An allegation that the studio and Shell reneged on an agreement to pick up an English-language format of a Roku reality show the gambler, R.J. Cipriani, co-created and exec produced. A lawsuit hasn’t been filed, though Paramount is lawyering up.
Blair Connelly, a longtime, do-it-all outside advisor to David Ellison, has stepped in after Cipriani presented the company with a lawsuit advancing breach of oral contract and fraudulent misrepresentation claims, among others, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Paramount chief legal officer Makan Delrahim was previously a partner at Connelly’s firm,…
