Lisa Kudrow has lost the legal battle with her ex-manager Scott Howard.
According to ABC News, a Santa Monica court decision of 10-2 ruled in favor of Howard on Tuesday, stating that Kudrow was liable for breach of contract. The court ordered the former "Friends" actress to pay her former manager $1.6 million for past and future economic losses.
"I feel gratified. It was our agreement and I live up to my agreement, and I expect others to live up to theirs as well," Howard told Inside Edition when leaving the courthouse.
Howard served as Kudrow's manager for 16 years, starting 1991. But the legal dispute started six years ago in 2008 when Howard sued Kudrow for $50,000 in fees from her income.
Howard claimed that Kudrow and he made an oral agreement that ensured he would still get paid a percentage of her earnings from her time on "Friends" and other ventures. He also added that he was owed five to 10 percent of Kudrow's continued payments from the show's reruns.
In court, Howard stated that because Kudrow had a job while still being represented by him, he deserves some of those residuals. After he and Kudrow ended their working relationship, though, the payments stopped.
In court documents, Kudrow stated that she had "no obligation to pay Howard" a commission after their business relationship ended. The New York Daily News reported that that actress said nothing after the verdict was read and showed very little emotion.
Her attorney, Gerald Sauer, told reporters that they plan to appeal.
"The jury's verdict is merely one step in the legal process," Sauer said in a statement. "This case ultimately will be resolved at the appellate level. Ms. Kudrow has faith in the judicial system, and she believes that the eventual outcome of this contractual dispute will be in her favor."
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kudrow began on "Friends" at $13,500 an episode. Over the years, her pay per-episode pay increased to $1,040,000 in 2000 plus $5 million in back-end compensation. Starting in 2004, Kudrow earned over $1 million for each of the show's final 18 episodes.
Kudrow has done many projects since "Friends" ended
"What generally happens now with unsophisticated actress clients is they overpay for filing a frivolous appeal that has no chance for success," Scott Howard's attorney Mark Baute said in a statement of his own. "The verdict is rock solid, and we look forward to collecting 10 percent, 16,000 dollars a month, in post-judgment interest while their frivolous appeal is pending. We will collect that interest for two years, which is how long it will take for the Court of Appeal to affirm this jury's righteous verdict."
