Another legal fight has broken out between rival Hollywood publicity firms, with MPRM suing 42West for allegedly orchestrating a hostile departure of its entire senior leadership team.
In a lawsuit filed on Friday in California state court, MPRM accuses 42West of poaching employees, clients and confidential information in an “effort to dismantle” the company. MPRM had been exploring sales talks, which have now ceased after six major clients terminated their contracts in favor of working with 42West.
Last week, roughly half of MPRM’s staff said they were leaving the PR firm, effective immediately. Included in the departure: executive vice presidents Sylvia Desrochers and Caitlin McGee, who were in negotiations over the summer to purchase MPRM from president Mark Pogachefsky. The company has been transitioning into the next generation of leadership since the retirement of cofounder Rachel McCalliser in 2022.
Desrochers and McGee were set to succeed Pogachefsky as the owners of MPRM. Those plans fell apart earlier this year when Pogachefsky received an offer from his ex-employees at less than 10 percent of the company’s value, according to the lawsuit. He put his retirement on hold as he fielded third party bids.
On Wednesday, Desrochers told Pogachefsky that she was taking Disney, National Geographic and NBC, among others, to MPRM with her to 42West, which didn’t respond to a request for comment, MPRM says.
The lawsuit accuses former MPRM employees of stealing trade secrets and confidential information to take. This includes marketing plans, client lists with the contact information of key personnel and customer profiles, which includes specific service needs and preferences.
“It was apparent that their leaving MPRM was hostile, had been in the works for quite some time, and would wreak havoc on MPRM and its existing clients by depriving it of key personnel,” writes Devin McRae, a lawyer for the company, in the complaint.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and brings claims for breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of trade secrets and fraudulent concealment, among several others.
42West — which grew out of The Dart Group and at one point had a starry lineup of clients that included Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise — is coming off of one of its most successful marketing campaigns in the release of Sony’s Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which has become the highest-grossing anime film ever with $555 million globally. In 2017, it was acquired by Dolphin Digital Media in a deal valued at $28 million.
The filing comes after marketing powerhouse R&CPMK filed a lawsuit last year accusing newcomer 2PM Sharp of employing the same playbook to build its business. It claimed that the founding partners of 2PM Sharp “orchestrated a mass departure” of employees, who allegedly conspired to funnel the firm’s business toward their new venture.
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