The 54-year-old actor accused Jacob A. Bloom and his law firm Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal and LaViolette of conspiring with his former financial manager TMG to siphon $40 million of his wealth.
- Oct 18, 2017
AceShowbiz - Johnny Depp sued his lawyer over claims that his lawyer conspired with his former financial manager to siphon $40 million of his wealth. TMZ reported that the "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" actor sued Jacob A. Bloom and his law firm, Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal & LaViolette, in a new complaint filed on Tuesday, October 17.
The suits claimed that Bloom and the highly-respected entertainment law firm committed "professional malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment," ultimately costing the actor tens of millions of dollars. "Johnny Depp's lawsuit filed today reflects his continued stand against systemic, self-serving Hollywood practices that he hopes this lawsuit will expose and end," Depp's lawyer, Adam Waldman, said.
In the new complaint, Depp claimed that "instead of protecting Mr. Depp's interests, [Bloom and his firm] engaged in misconduct for their own financial benefit and violated some of the most basic tenets of the attorney-client relationship." The complaint also alleged that Bloom "improperly and negligently collected over $30,000,000 in voidable contingent fees" from his variable income over the years without a legally binding contract under California law.
Depp believed he was taken for a ride by Bloom, his firm and The Management Group, Depp's former financial manager as they were allegedly employing a "fox guarding the hen house" strategy. The 54-year-old star claimed that Bloom and his firm took out a "hard money loan" with "double digit interest rate" as well as manipulated the terms of the load for their own benefit.
Depp claimed in the new complaint that he lost out on approximately $32,000,000 in residual payments from his films over a three-year period due to the manipulated terms of the loan. In addition, he claimed that he's still on the hook for $5,000,000 on the loan, "which continues to capitalize substantial interest at unreasonable rates" and fees.
"This loan cost Mr. Depp millions of dollars in unreasonable interest, fees, and voidable contingent fees, and was imposed on Mr. Depp without any of the protections that should have been afforded to a client when dealing with his attorney," the documents stated.
The documents went on stating, "A former TMG employee who was the day-to-day manager of Mr. Depp's account at TMG testified that [Bloom] submitted requests for expense reimbursement, with little to no supporting backup, which TMG would then pay, without question, from Mr. Depp's funds. [Bloom's] expenses and requests for reimbursement were never sent to Mr. Depp for review and approval."
Back in February, Depp sued TMG for $25 million in a fraud lawsuit. TMG later filed a cross-complaint, accusing the actor of living an "ultra-extravagant lifestyle that often knowingly cost [him] in excess of $2 million per month to maintain, which he simply could not afford."
However, a judge later ruled that the actor's personal spending habits were not relevant in the ongoing legal battle.
