Former “Party of Five” starlet Jennifer Love Hewitt has enjoyed fame beyond that of her contemporaries, but with great success comes great lawsuits, and the one filed by Handprint Entertainment LLC, a Los Angeles based management firm is one such perfect example. It seems she verbally promised a cut of all her future earnings, but didn’t cut enough of an oral deal to get out of it.

The management firm sued last week for breach of contract, claiming that she’s failed to honor a verbal contract nobody heard but them, which would entitle them, if factual, to a 10% commission for every deal they helped to broker. In a world where even written contracts are frequently contested for the sake of the bottom line, it’s hard to imagine the verbal offer having not been put in ink, but the management firm does have almost one entire leg to stand on.

The “Ghost Whisperer” star, it is reported, did willingly pay 10% of her first season’s salary to the management firm, adding tremendous credence to the claims. More damning still is that current manager Danielle Thomas, recruited from Handprint, admitted that proceeds otherwise due to her, should go to Handprint. The show’s ratings have been sufficient to suggest it will enjoy at least one more season.

The company is seeking at least $350,000 in damages, but it doesn’t justify terrible jokes like, “Love Hewitt ‘knows what she did last season,’ and knows that she owes Handprint its 10% commission this season too.” Surely Hewitt should pay something for her role in the travesty “The Tuxedo”, but it should go to bad movie recovery charities, rather than rich management agencies.

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