UPDATED 6/3/21, 3:10 p.m. ET: Scooter Braun has publicly spoken out about his legal dispute with Peter Comisar. “One day I woke up to find out that a guy who took $5 million from us years ago with zero results has now read a headline of our success and has shown up out of the blue to ask for more money,” Braun wrote via Twitter. “Got to love a good opportunist. Unfortunately we don’t scare easy. Wish him well.”
UPDATED 06/2/21, 11:20 p.m. ET: Scooter Braun has filed a petition for arbitration against Peter Comisar for what’s described as a “judicial intervention to end Peter’s unlawful, extortionate and opportunistic threats against him.”
The petition goes on to say that “a clear arbitration provision” was in place but that Comisar “repudiated that contractual obligation by threatening to sue Braun in court and thereby make public his unfounded allegations.”
Braun’s petition argues that the move “was a transparent (and unsuccessful) threat by Comisar to derail Ithaca’s sale and thereby hold Braun and Ithaca hostage unless they cave into Comisar’s extortionate demands. Those tactics proved flawed, as Braun refuses to be extorted and the sale of Ithaca has already closed. Further, like Braun, HYBE sees Comisar’s baseless allegations for what they are: an attempt by a failure and opportunist to make a quick buck off someone else’s hard work”
The petition continues, “Because Comisar’s claims are baseless and, by his actions, Comisar has made it clear that he understands the only conceivable leverage he has is the threat his baseless claims pose rather than their actual legal merit, Braun seeks an order from this Court compelling Comisar to arbitration. That is clearly where Comisar’s meritless claims belong and an arbitrator will swiftly and definitely resolve them, leaving no further opportunity for Comisar to attempt to extort Braun.”
See original story below.
A former Goldman Sachs partner filed a $50 million lawsuit against Scooter Braun alleging the music executive promised him a meaningful role in his new venture once he left his lucrative job, but failed to live up to his word, New York Postreports.
Peter Comisar was working for Guggenheim Securities when Braun allegedly touted his high-profile roster of talent and close friends in an effort to entice him to bolt from his current gig. Comisar claims he was “aggressively courted” from 2016 to 2017 by Braun with the hopes of launching Scope Capital Partners with business manager David Bolno.
The lawsuit alleges Bolno spoke highly of Braun’s past accomplishments in their conversations, crediting him for “reigniting Calvin Klein underwear through a campaign with Justin Bieber and creating the Yeezy brand for Kanye West.” Comisar claims he was told by Braun that he could raise anywhere between $500 million and $700 million by getting close friends, like Jimmy Iovine and David Geffen, to invest in Scope. Braun allegedly said he described Geffen as his “godfather.”
Comisar claims that Braun “personally executed contractual commitments to support the new venture,” which would’ve given Scope an operating expense of $7 million per year for three years with Comisar earning an salary of $3 million a year. While it appeared that things were trending in the right direction for all parties, it took a turn for the worse when the billionaire investors that Braun allegedly promised weren’t coming through.
“Braun had to explain to Comisar, tail between his legs, how he had asked David Geffen, his supposed Godfather, to invest in Scope, only to be told by Geffen that he did not view Braun as someone with whom Geffen would invest,” the lawsuit said.
“The truth was that Braun’s relations valued him as someone to socialize with, but to whom they could never and trust their millions,” the suit added. “When it came to fundraising, Braun turned out to be a sheep in wolves clothing.”
Comisar claims he was threatened by Bolno, who allegedly told him that if he pursued legal action over a breach of contract, “Braun would trash Comisar’s pristine reputation” and “ruin him financially.”
