By Stephen Brook and Kishor Napier-Raman
At CBD, we love a good old-fashioned break-up. We reserve extra love for those break-ups that involve a hit reality TV show, a jeweller to the stars, luxury real estate and multimillion-dollar legal battles between former friends.
Scenes like this are a regular occurrence in Luxe Listings.Credit: Amazon Prime Video
Such is the state of the acrimonious separation of James Kennedy and Ben Scott, two old chums from the Sydney private boys school Cranbrook (where else?). The pair were the brains behind Amazon Prime Video’s Luxe Listings, a glossy reality program that follows a suite of real estate agents working in (or should we just say working?) Sydney’s luxury property market.
James Kennedy.Credit: Nic Walker
James, chief executive of Kennedy Watches & Jewellery, which is known for its sponsorships of the Victoria Racing Club and the AFL, was taken to court earlier this year by his former friend.
A key to Scott’s claim is that Kennedy secretly used the TV program for incidental product placement of Rolex and Patek Philippe watches that his business sells.
Scott also alleges that Kennedy breached his fiduciary duties as a co-director of their production company Kentel Australasia by negotiating a deal with Amazon that undervalued the show, and robbed them of ownership rights over Luxe Listings.
The pair came up with the idea for a reality show about real estate agents after Kennedy watched Scott’s reality show Meet the Hockers, which the latter created and co-produced with Kyle Sandilands.
Initially, they talked to Network 10 about the show. But according to Scott’s statement of claim, Kennedy went behind his back and signed a deal with Amazon that gave the creators a lump-sum payment of $30,000 and $15,000 per episode – and gave the global behemoth all rights to the show.
Scott is seeking equitable compensation for Kennedy’s alleged breach of his fiduciary duties, and for all profits he derived from product placement.
That’s left a long and costly legal fight before we even get to the planned 10-day trial.
The case returned to the NSW Supreme Court on Friday for a hearing before Justice Francois Kunc. Noting that Kennedy’s team had been “egregiously late” in discovery, he ordered them to disclose documents to the other side. The defendants also agreed to release some of Scott’s emails held on their server.
Kennedy has filed a defence, denying the claims and asserting that he and another previous employee were legally entitled to the program and intellectual property. CBD contacted Kennedy for comment.
Meanwhile, the plaintiffs are trying to subpoena details of marketing deals that watchmakers, including Rolex, had with Kennedy.
Because Patek Philippe doesn’t have an Australian office, Scott’s legal team will need to go to a Swiss court to have them subpoenaed, adding a European twist to the tale.
Who you gonna call?
Politicians come and go, but billionaires last. None more so than property developer Harry Triguboff of Meriton fame. The Trig is 91 and his wealth of $26.5 billion means the country’s most powerful politicians adopt a decidedly non-ageist stance when asked to make time for him.
That includes Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who by our calculations is the 24th treasurer the property developer has encountered (multiple minister Scott Morrison included). According to a copy of Chalmers’ diary, released under freedom-of-information laws, the treasurer had a phone call with Triguboff in October. Age ain’t nothing but a number.
Another interesting character on the treasurer’s dance card was Nicola Forrest, ex-wife of mining baron turned clean energy evangelist Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest. A meeting was set up, but alas her people cancelled at the death.
Anyone for unrest?
The Tennis Court Oath of 1789 was a powerful political demand for rights from a bunch of fed-up citizens that kick-started the French Revolution.
Members of Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club are concerned about a lack of transparency from the board, following the announcement that accounting giant Grant Thornton would investigate the club’s missing millions.Credit: The Age
The Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club annual meeting last week wasn’t quite a revolution, but there were plenty of tennis courts (the club has 52) and plenty of oaths from members directed at the club’s board.
Regular readers will recall that the “spiritual home of Australian tennis”, and host of the Australian Open from 1972 to 1987, was engulfed in controversy late last year when it called in external auditors over a $2.4 million “accounting loss” from its dining and functions operations. That’s a heck of a lot of beef wagyu.
After several departures, it culminated in the AGM on Wednesday, which announced the results of board elections and the presentation of the annual report to members.
The good news: the club announced a $535,000 operating profit for the previous financial year, after an operating loss over the same period prior of $963,000.
But members remained upset at the lack of detail in the report, questioned the accounting methods used and expressed their consternation about a lack of consultation before the closure of the club’s crèche. They were also unimpressed by outgoing interim president Darren O’Loughlin’s request on the night that members refrain from commenting and stick to asking questions.
“The general atmosphere was one of anger and discontent,” one longtime member told CBD.
Another summed up the night thus: “They ticked the boxes, handballed it to the new board and got out of there. They showed zero respect.”
Three factions lined up for election: the old guard, a grassroots group called Members for Kooyong, and a Kooyong 2050 ticket backed by Steve Wood, former chief executive of Tennis Australia, who was separately elected unopposed as the new president.
A trio of newcomers were elected: Brian Cooney from Wood’s ticket and Fiona Hansen and Jacqueline Tulloch from the Members For Kooyong alliance.
They will join previous board members who were not up for election, vice president Rowena Cole, Sally Peers and Sarah Sheer.
CBD approached outgoing president O’Loughlin for a response but didn’t hear back.
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