The Pacella Law Group

A claim of slightly more than $1 million made on the estate of film director Tony Scott has been rejected by the administrators of the estate. The claim had been filed by Creative Artists Agency, which served as Scott’s talent agency, which said that Scott owed the company commissions for several of Scott’s film projects. Despite the rejection, the estate is claiming the probate process is amicable and that Scott and CAA had a good relationship before his death in August 2012.

Scott, the director of films including “Top Gun,” “True Romance” and “The Taking of Pelham 123,” committed suicide last summer at age 68. In January, CAA filed a claim of a little more than $1 million against Scott’s estate, which is estimated at $1.25 million. In the claim, CAA said it was owned commissions for Scott’s earning from several of his most recent movies. For example, the company said that Scott owed it $450,000 for “Man on Fire,” $400,000 for “Déjà Vu” and $110,000 for “Pelham.”

Representatives of Scott’s estate filed its rejection of that claim in Los Angeles Superior Court on March 12. The rejection was made without comment so it is not certain why the estate did so. However, accepting the claim would have swallowed up most of Scott’s estate.

A representative of the estate said that Scott and CAA “love each other.” He described the rejection as “standard legal procedure” and promised that the agency would get paid. It is still possible for the parties to negotiate a settlement before the matter would go to probate court.

Source: The Wrap, “Tony Scott’s Estate Rejects $1M Claim by CAA,” Tim Kenneally, March 14, 2013

· To learn more about how a creditor claim against an estate can affect the execution of a will or trust, please visit our Los Angeles wills page