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"Frankly, I feel like most of this is wasting my time," Galleycat quotes the judge in ICM v. Richard "Ari Gold-Plated" Abate as saying yesterday. (The lit agent jumped from ICM to Endeavor; wrangling ensues.) We don't want to imply that Galleycat is doing the same with its 9-paragraph dissection of what the first day of that trial was like, but if you're short on time and care about figuring out whether ICM is shadier than Abate or vice versa, here's the juicy stuff so far.

  • Per Abate's testimony: On January 25, 2007 with more than 11 months remaining in his 3-year, $260,000/year contract, Abate was told by ICM bigs that his contract would be renegotiated, giving him a raise to $500,000, with increases through to early 2010—if he signed on the spot. "Abate appreciated the offer, but had a lot of questions about ICM (which he didn't elaborate on, at least not yet, though he did mention one Friday where none of ICM's New York employees got their checks in a timely manner.)"
  • The next day, Abate called Endeavor to see whether they were interesting in having him rep books. He quit to join them on February 9th.
  • At least one Abate client found out that he was leaving ICM via some blog or other.
  • ICM General Counsel Richard Levy testified that email exchanges and FedEx slips that showed Abate or someone else at ICM "had sent confidential information from the offices to Abate's home."
  • Per Abate's testimony, ICM bigwig Sloan Harris is all "dude." As in, "Dude, sign it now. You won't get a better deal."

    Abate Vs. ICM: Day One In Court [Galleycat]