Luxe Listings co-creators Benjamin Scott and James Kennedy trade costly blows in Supreme Court stoush
Their relationship might be at an all-time low, but the bills being racked up by Luxe Listings Sydney co-creators Benjamin Scott and James Kennedy in their bitter legal battle are soaring sky-high.
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Their relationship might be at an all-time low, but the bills being racked up by Luxe Listings Sydney co-creators Benjamin Scott and James Kennedy in their bitter legal battle are soaring sky-high.
Financial figures tendered to the NSW Supreme Court this week reveal Kennedy’s legal team have revised their original estimated cost of the high-profile trial — approximately $450,000 — to a whopping $1.1m, amid claims they’ve been served with 1500 pages worth of affidavit evidence from Scott’s lawyers, as well as a lengthy list of material to produce under discovery orders.
Scott, the brains behind the Amazon-streamed show and who once worked with Kyle Sandilands on reality TV series Meet the Hockers, launched legal action against his former business partner, jewellery baron and money man Kennedy, last year after a bitter falling out between the two childhood friends.
According to court documents, Scott claims Kennedy’s decision to place the show in the hands of Amazon instead of another interested party — Network Ten — was “not in the best interest of Kentel Australasia”, the production company the pair set up to oversee the program.
Scott alleges in a statement of claim filed in court that Kentel lost all ownership, copyright and creative control over the show as a result of the Amazon deal, as well as future income from product placement deals, allegedly resulting in a significant financial loss to the company.
He claims the deal with Amazon was negotiated by Kennedy behind his back and that Kennedy acted in breach of his director duties to the company in doing so.
Kennedy denies the allegations, claiming Scott had been present and involved in the talks and signed off on the agreement when it was presented to Kentel Australasia.
In court this week, Kennedy’s lawyers said they had already racked up a bill of $330,000 sifting through a mountain of documents and preparing preliminary motions ahead of the trial, which they estimated would now double in length from five to ten days with the requirement of additional experts witnesses.
The court heard Scott had previously been ordered to deposit $300,000 with the court registry as security for costs, however Kennedy’s legal team this week sought to have that increased by $400,000 due to the estimated blowout in the cost to run the trial.
Scott’s legal team opposed any increase in security and labelled the $400,000 figure as “grossly excessive” and “mind boggling”.
Justice Ian Pike agreed to a moderate security increase of $145,000, bringing the total amount held as security to $445,000.
The court previously heard Channel 10 almost picked up Luxe Listings Sydney before it ultimately ended up with Amazon, which acquired all ownership and rights to the production for a lump-sum payment of US$30,000, plus US$15,000 per episode paid to Kentel Australasia.
The TV show, which follows three elite Sydney agents as they negotiate the sale of some of the city’s most exclusive real estate, was a hit with fans all over the world and quickly became Amazon’s most viewed Australian original program.
The case will return to court in October.
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