Court becomes David-Goliath battle site
The P7-million liquidated damage case filed by network giant GMA7 for breach of management and program contracts against actress Sarah Lahbati has been raffled on Monday by Judge Germano Francisco-Legaspi to the Branch 77 of the Regional Trial Court in Quezon City.
A statement from GMA7 said that the complaint was filed because of Lahbati’s “failure and refusal to comply with her obligations and undertakings under the management contract she had signed up with the network and appearances in her program assignments despite notice and advice.”
“Lahbati’s continuous dishonor and flagrant violations of her obligations to perform her role as an artist in GMA-7’s TV programs is highly detrimental to the entertainment TV block of GMA7; thus, requiring Lahbati to immediately discharge her contractual obligations with GMA-7,” it added.
The network said that the complaint was filed stemming from her “refusal to perform her obligations under the management contract and other program contracts coupled with her formal notice to take a leave of absence for one month from the network without prior agreement or approval of GMA7.”
Despite the network’s refusal Lahbati’s allegedly took a leave of absence.
In a series of tweets earlier this month, Lahbati said that she decided to go to Switzerland and study there because of her disagreements with people handling her career.
“I’ve had misunderstandings with the people who are handling my career. I am still thankful to them for the efforts they have shown in the past but now I feel neglected and my back is against the wall. Therefore I have to do something,” the actress said.
She also said that she decided to sign a contract with talent manager Annabelle Rama, mother of her boyfriend Richard Gutierrez, when she learned that they can be co-managed by another company following the offer of GMA executives for her to sign a contract with ICONS management.
