Two “Terminator Salvation” producers have sued the Pacificor hedge fund and one of its former employees alleging financial wrongdoing in a pair of suits.

The Halcyon Co., owner of the rights to the movie franchise, accused former Pacificor employee Kurt Benjamin of fraud, double-dealing and conspiring with the fund’s CEO, Andy Mitchell.

Dominion Group, which is owned by Halcyon toppers Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek, accused Pacificor in a second suit of wrongfully filing a lien on Dominion’s assets to block it from obtaining financing for Halcyon.

The suits, filed Monday in state court in Los Angeles, each seek about $30 million in damages. Pacificor and Benjamin were not available for comment.

Santa Barbara-based Pacificor provided the financing for Halcyon’s acquisition of the motion picture and related rights to the “Terminator” franchise in May 2007.

The suit against Benjamin alleges that when he introduced Anderson and Kubicek to Pacificor he presented himself as an independent contractor acting on Halcyon’s behalf when he was actually an employee of Pacificor.

The action also alleges that Benjamin did not disclose to Pacificor that he was being compensated by Halcyon for arranging the deal.

The lawsuit accuses Mitchell and Benjamin of taking advantage of their knowledge of Halcyon’s confidential business information to manipulate the company into a position where they could threaten to ruin it if their demands for under-the-table compensation were not met.

The suits were filed four months after an amicable settlement was reached in fellow “Terminator” producer Moritz Borman’s lawsuit against Anderson, Kubicek and Halcyon. Borman had alleged fraud and breach of contract for unpaid producing fees on the pic and was seeking more than $160 million in damages (Daily Variety, March 9).
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“Terminator Salvation” grossed $125 million domestically and $244 million internationally.

[Source] Variety