Tannenbaum, Ovitz settle

Terms of agreement will not be disclosed

By JANET SHPRINTZ

Tannenbaum

Former ATG prexy Eric Tannenbaum has settled his suit for lost salary with Mike Ovitz. Tannenbaum's attorney, Mel Avanzado, confirmed Wednesday that the parties had settled but would not disclose the terms of the settlement.

Tannenbaum sued in April, claiming he was entitled to the $10 million due on his five-year contract even though ATG shuttered less than halfway through his deal. In his suit, filed in L.A. Superior Court, Tannenbaum claimed Ovitz had personally guaranteed his contract and had lured him from his job as head of Sony's TV production unit by falsely claiming he had a billion-dollar line of credit from JPMorgan.

Tannenbaum stayed on at ATG even after Ovitz announced he was shutting down the operation because he couldn't attract a financial backer. He alleged that Ovitz finally fired him on the pretext that he wasn't doing his job even though they had stopped TV production. Tannenbaum also claimed Ovitz defamed him by telling people Tannenbaum's overspending had helped tank the operation.

The trial court dismissed the defamation claim, which was on appeal at the time of settlement.

Tannenbaum is now producing via his own Warner Bros. TV-based company.

The demise of ATG and AMG left Ovitz embroiled in litigation.