Music tycoon Simon Cowell sued by prominent City lawyer
City lawyer Ian Rosenblatt has launched legal action in London’s High Court against music mogul Simon Cowell over alleged withheld fees.
The lawsuit stems from the lawyer stepping down as director of Syco Entertainment, Cowell’s production company, and as an adviser to the talent show judge. Quinn Emanuel’s partner Gregory Pantlin and senior associate Emma Bohnman-Bryant are representing Rosenblatt, which filed the claim in the Commercial Court on Wednesday.
Rosenblatt served on Cowell’s internal team that secured a groundbreaking $125m securitisation deal for the intellectual property of the Got Talent format. He also led the legal team that advised the TV personality in 2020 on buying out Sony Music’s stake in his television joint venture.
According to legal documents reviewed by Sky News, Rosenblatt alleges that the creator of Britain’s Got Talent breached an agreement between them regarding transaction fees. The City lawyer claims that he reached an agreement with Cowell in October 2022 after he had indicated his intention to step down from Syco and his role as an adviser to Cowell.
The claim document also shows allegations that there was “a series of threats against Mr Rosenblatt in an effort to deter Mr Rosenblatt from pursuing his debt and/or damages claim”.
The music judge instructed law firm Joseph Hage Aaronson & Bremen for his defence.
Downfall of Rosenblatt’s listed legal business
The prominent City lawyer founded Rosenblatt Solicitors in 1989, which grew to become Rosenblatt Group. In 2018, the group listed on the London Stock Exchange, becoming the fourth English law firm at the time to go public.
However, he was in the headlines last year after the dramatic collapse of RBG Holdings.
Before the group’s collapse, the board terminated its consultancy agreement with Rosenblatt and made allegations against its founder. At the time, Rosenblatt said the accusations were “untrue and defamatory“.
He went on to create Rosenblatt Law, which inherited a 40-person team from RBG Holdings.