UPDATED, 8:42 AM: Narcos executive producer/director José Padilha has settled his lawsuit against fellow EP Eric Newman over what he claimed was his share of millions of dollars in profits from the Netflix drama series. Terms were not disclosed in Monday’s filing.
Read details of the case below.
PREVIOUSLY, August 30: Narcos executive producer/director José Padilha is suing his fellow EP Eric Newman over what he claims is his share of millions of dollars in profits from the Netflix drama series.
The lawsuit, filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court, says that “Padilha and Newman agreed to share equally 50%/50% (excluding any payments Padilha might receive from directing services) in all revenue, income, and proceeds of any nature …that either might receive based on or connected with the Series.”
Padilha, whose directing credits also include Elite Squad and its sequel, also directed episodes of Narcos, about the life of Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. The series premiered in 2015 on Netflix and along with spinoff Narcos: Mexico ran for six seasons on the streamer, wrapping in 2021.
The suit (read it here) claims that Padilha’s Cold Mountain and Newman’s Spahn Ranch “entered into a written agreement dated June 27, 2013 (the ‘Profit Sharing Agreement’), pursuant to which Cold Mountain and Spahn Ranch agreed and acknowledged, among other things, that they would evenly split ‘all revenue, income, and proceeds’ received by either of them or their respective principals, Padilha and Newman, in connection with exploitation of the Series, on a ’50/50′ basis (other than the carved out exceptions).”
The plaintiffs allege that “Defendants have knowingly, intentionally, and fraudulently concealed from Plaintiffs significant Narcos Revenues and have failed and refused to account to Plaintiff for their 50% share of all Narcos Revenues. Instead, Defendants have retained all of the Narcos Revenues for their own use and benefit.”
The suit claims breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty and calls for an accounting. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages via a jury trial. Netflix is not named in the lawsuit.
Before Narcos, Padilha and Newman previously collaborated on the Padilha-directed, Newman-produced RoboCop remake in 2014.
