LOS ANGELES (CNS) — A talent management agency has reached a settlement of a lawsuit it filed against 17-year-old Disney Channel singer/actress Kylie Cantrall's father, who allegedly stopped paying 10% commissions owed under an agreement made for the benefit of his daughter, an attorney for the company told a judge Tuesday.
The announcement came during a scheduled final status conference before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Green regarding plaintiff Rafterman Entertainment Media Inc.'s lawsuit against Alexander Cantrall and the company he formed on behalf of his daughter, Hello Kylie Entertainment Inc. No terms were divulged.
The suit's allegations included breach of contract and promissory fraud. In their court papers, lawyers for Alexander Cantrall maintained that Rafterman Entertaiment was unlicensed to act as a talent agency.
Last August, the judge granted Alexander Cantrall's motion to have Rafterman Entertainment's allegations heard by the state Labor Commissioner rather than the courts and issued a stay of the litigation. During a Feb. 2 status conference on the Labor Commissioner proceedings, the judge scheduled Tuesday's final status conference.
According to the talent agency's complaint filed in February 2021, Alexander Cantrall put his daughter's company and ultimately her career in increasing jeopardy.
"Although (Alexander) Cantrall portrays himself on his social media as a 'Supa-Dad,' the reality is that Alexander Cantrall has been pulling the strings with regard to Kylie's career in order to enrich himself to the detriment of others who have helped nurture Kylie's career, including plaintiffs," the suit alleged.
In allegedly refusing to pay Rafterman Media the 10% talent management commission that was agreed to and repeatedly reaffirmed, Alexander Cantrall and Hello Kylie "demonstrated a blatant disregard for their contractual obligations and a propensity for outright fraud," according to the suit.
In December 2016, Alexander Cantrall asked Rafterman Entertainment to represent his daughter in her nascent entertainment career when she was 11 years old, had no record of success and needed experienced and sophisticated management, the suit stated.
The defendants promised to pay the plaintiffs a 10% gross commission for projects arising while Rafterman Entertainment represented the singer, including residuals, the suit stated. During the December 2016 meeting, Alexander Cantrall promised Rafterman Entertainment that the payments would be made and reiterated the terms time and time again, not only to Rafterman Entertainment, but in front of the singer and her mother, Carol Borjas, who is Alexander Cantrall's ex-wife, the suit stated.
With Rafterman Media's guidance, Kylie Cantrall's career skyrocketed, according to the suit, which says that by the end of 2018, she had landed a guest star role for the Disney Channel series "Bizaardvark," a recurring guest star role in the Disney Channel series "Raven's Home" and ultimately the lead role in the hit Disney Channel series "Gabby Duran & the Unsittables."
"With plaintiff's guidance, Kylie catapulted into being the next big Disney star," the suit stated.
In December 2018, Alexander Cantrall abruptly terminated the firm's services, but for the next 18 months payments were made as scheduled, the suit stated. In July 2020, Alexander Cantrall and Hello Kiylie made a "strange" direct deposit without any of the description and supporting documentation that accompanied prior commission payments, the suit alleged.
In a series of text messages three months later, he threatened to cut the plaintiff's commissions from 10% to 5% before ultimately stopping payments altogether, the suit alleged.
"In short, Alexander Cantrall and Hello Kylie have completely abandoned their promised commitments to plaintiffs, not only breaching the management agreement and exposing prior misrepresentations, but also demonstrating the extent to which Alexander Cantrall is breaching the obligations he owes to his 17-year-old daughter."
Rafterman Media asked that Alexander Cantrall be replaced by a court-appointed receiver who could provide "sufficient structure where not only past-due commissions are paid, but future commissions are substantiated and conveyed as well."