Adweek reports that entertainment marketing firm Madison Road, which was sued last week by Mark Burnett Productions for allegedly misrepresenting its relationship with Burnett to clients, has countersued Burnett for $40 million for defamation and trade libel.
The suit, filed in Superior Court in Santa Monica, Calif., charges that after Burnett’s success with placements in the second season of The Apprentice, the company began upping fees for placements to $5 million (from what sources said was $2.5-3 million) and tried to cut out third parties.
Madison Road disputes the claim in Burnett’s suit that Madison Road misrepresented its relationship with Burnett and charged up to 250 percent more than Burnett’s fee for placements.
The suit cites an e-mail purported to be from Kevin Harris, co-executive producer for Mark Burnett Productions, to Madison Road and AIM Productions, a New York-based product placement firm, asking for a $5 million fee for placements on the third season of The Apprentice.
