De Guere v. Universal City Studios, Inc.

Philip De Guere appeals from a judgment entered in favor of Universal City Studios, Inc. (Universal) in his action for breach of contract, declaratory relief, and for an accounting. The parties are litigating Mr. De Guere’s entitlement to profits from a television series which he created and produced. The trial court appointed a referee under the authority of Code of Civil Procedure section 639, subdivision (a), which authorizes a reference for the examination of a long account. The principal issue on this appeal concerns the nondelegability of judicial power. We conclude that Mr. De Guere was deprived of his right to trial on the issues of contract interpretation and enforceability.

Factual and Procedural Summary

Mr. De Guere has been in the entertainment business since 1966. Most of his work was at Universal. In the summer of 1979, he created the Simon & Simon television series. He served as executive producer for the series pilots and for the first four seasons of production, from 1979 through 1984. Mr. De Guere did not work on the series after his contract with Universal expired in 1984.

Mr. De Guere’s agent, Marvin Moss, represented him in negotiations with…