WEST HOLLYWOOD—John Musero, former HBO staff writer for the series “The Newsroom” filed a lawsuit alleging agents at Creative Artist Agency (CAA) stole his TV pilot idea.
The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court notes that CAA agents, Andrew Miller and Leah Yerushalaim sold Musero’s idea for the political legal drama for “Main Justice,” in 2015 without his knowledge to high-profile client and writer Sascha Penn and CBS in 2018.
Penn has a list of successful writing credit including the movie “Creed II” starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone.
Musero acussed CAA of breaching it’s fiduciary duty by placing a hierarchy ahead of him for a more lucrative client. He accuses CAA of selling his pilot to Hollywood power player Jerry Bruckheimer at CBS television. The suit also alleged that CAA breached “Influence” another TV pilot he wrote.
Musero’s lawsuit comes as talent agents accused the Writers Guild of America (WGA) of misleading members under new policies. The WGA West, President David Goodman explained during a press release last month that “The WGA is focused on only one thing: fixing problems that hurt writers. The necessary changes may come through either negotiations or a Code of Conduct.”
CAA denies all allegations Musero claimed through attorney Craig Holden.
