Global Film Emperor

Chapter 325 Trial Result
The atmosphere in the courtroom changed instantly the moment the small wooden hammer struck. Those who have never been to a courtroom can hardly understand how loud the sound of that hammer blow really is. Even the sight of the national emblem caused a noticeable pause in breathing.

After striking the gavel, the presiding judge paused for a moment and looked at Lu Ze in the dock. He felt a pang of regret for Lu Ze. Judges are human too, and naturally they have their own entertainment. Lu Ze was probably the only actor among the younger generation of artists whom he had a good impression of. However, the law must be based on principles beyond human sentiment and cannot be biased towards anyone because of personal feelings.

He glanced at Shen Jinghan, who was sitting alone in the jury box, then extended his right index finger, pursed it to his lips, turned to the next page, announced the court rules, and asked the plaintiff and defendant again if they had heard him clearly.

"Defendant, have you received the court summons, notice of rights and obligations, or other relevant documents? Are you aware of your rights and obligations in this lawsuit?"

"Yes."

"Have any requests been made for the recusal of the court judges and court clerks?"

"No."

"Are there any witnesses who will appear in court to testify?"

"No."

Next, the judge asked Lu Ze for details such as his name, age, ethnicity, address, occupation, and ID number. Lu Ze answered very fluently. An ordinary person would inevitably be a little nervous, but for Lu Ze, there was obviously no problem.

Next, the judge questioned Feng Changhao, the plaintiff who was representing the plaintiff. Since the plaintiff was a company rather than a private individual, the judge's questions were not too detailed. After that, the plaintiff's lawyer read the complaint.

"The defendant, Lu Zeyuan, was an artist under Qian Shijia Media Co., Ltd. He signed an eight-year artist contract with Qian Shijia Media on September 13, 2016. Later, he violated the relevant clauses of the contract without authorization and failed to perform his duties and obligations. According to the commercial contract, if one party fails to perform its contractual obligations or performs its obligations in a manner that does not conform to the agreement, the defendant shall claim liquidated damages, actual losses caused, and future losses caused.

This was within Lu Ze's expectations. Attorney Zhang made an outrageous demand, requiring Lu Ze to pay both a penalty for breach of contract and to compensate Qian Shijia for the losses incurred by Lu Ze's departure. Of course, this was clearly unreasonable.

The contract had already been provided to the court, and the judge was naturally fully familiar with it. He first asked Attorney Zhang to sit down and announced that the defendant's lawyer could respond to the defendant's case. In other words, it was time for Li Jun to retaliate.

"Hello, Your Honor, I have objections to the plaintiff's lawyer. According to Article 114, Paragraph 2 of the Contract Law, the maximum penalty for breach of contract shall not exceed 30% of the plaintiff's losses. If it is too high or too low, an adjustment can be applied for. However, the plaintiff is demanding full compensation of 80 million and asking us to bear their losses. This is equivalent to us having to pay them 80 million in compensation after we have already paid our own compensation. This is unreasonable, a clear case of unfair terms, and does not comply with relevant national regulations."

"Agreed. The plaintiff should pursue their claim with the correct attitude."

The presiding judge wasn't stupid; he certainly wouldn't agree to Qian Shijia's demand for compensation. After giving him a warning, he allowed Attorney Zhang to continue speaking.

Attorney Zhang did not stand up immediately. He turned around and glanced at Feng Changhao, who was sitting in the defendant's seat. The two looked at each other and Attorney Zhang could see some anxiety hidden in Feng Changhao's eyes, which could be confirmed by Feng Changhao's constant pressing of the ballpoint pen. The two exchanged thoughts with their eyes before Zhang Xiangyang slowly stood up.

"Your Honor, I apologize for my words and actions just now. However, according to Qian Shijia Media's preliminary estimate, the defendant's breach of contract has caused the plaintiff at least 20 million yuan in brokerage losses, and the future losses are expected to reach 2 million yuan, with a total cumulative loss of more than 23 million yuan. Based on the provisions of national laws, we are willing to propose a compensation plan of 30% of the losses."

Instantly, Li Jun raised his hand, looked at Zhang Xiangyang with a bewildered expression, and protested to the presiding judge.

"I have doubts!"

"The defendant's lawyer speaks."

"The contractual profit sharing between the defendant and the plaintiff clearly states a 6:4 ratio, and the plaintiff is to bear the income of the defendant's agent, which is 20% of the total funds. Over the course of six years and nine months, it is calculated that the defendant has generated economic benefits of more than 14 million yuan for the plaintiff. However, intangible assets such as fame cannot be included in the losses. Whether our side will accept film contracts in the next year and three months is unknown and belongs to future uncertain losses, so we are not liable for legal responsibility. How can there be more than 23 million yuan in brokerage losses?"

Lu Ze and Li Jun were both confused. If you include fame, the loss could be over 100 million, or even several hundred million, let alone 23 million. But if you remove fame, which is intangible, and consider the actual loss, where the hell did 23 million come from? But if Attorney Zhang is just spouting nonsense, that's definitely impossible. Qian Shijia must have something else in his hands!
Sure enough, Attorney Zhang took out another contract from his bag. Lu Ze was certain that this contract was not his own, so why would he take out a contract that was unrelated to this case?

"Your Honor, there is evidence to support the defendant's breach of contract resulting in a loss of 23 million. This contract is an investment agreement signed between Qian Shijia Media and the investor shareholders, with an investment amount of 80 million yuan. Page 19 of the contract clearly stipulates that the investor requires certain artists not to terminate their contracts with Qian Shijia Media during the contract period. If Qian Shijia is unable to retain the artists, the investor will withdraw part of its funds. The defendant is among the designated artists. The investor invested 20 million yuan in the defendant, and the shareholders withdrew their investment on November 6th." It's impossible for Lu Ze not to be confused, since he had no idea such a contract existed. The reason Lu Ze relaxed just now was because, in his original plan, after paying the breach of contract penalty, he estimated he would still have several million yuan left. With this money, whatever he did, he would at least have some start-up capital and some security for the future.

But what about now? If the 23 million loss is compensated, and then another 30% of that 23 million is compensated, then Lu Ze will have to pay 30 million. Adding the 30 million compensation for the iced tea, let alone leaving any money, he will also have to bear millions in debt!
Lu Ze and Li Jun exchanged a glance, both able to see a look of astonishment in each other's eyes. Instantly, Lu Ze felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave; this was yet another trap set by Li Shanjun!

If the shareholders of Qian Shijia are indeed fake people helping with money laundering, then Lee Sun-kyun could easily use these fake people to create a system that would bind all of Qian Shijia's well-known artists to his own company.

If the investor is investing because they are optimistic about a particular artist's future, that makes sense. If they later fall out with that artist, they can simply release this contract and demand tens of millions in return. Lee Sun-kyun can sit back and collect the money. That's why Lee Jun was completely unaware of this contract, because only Lee Sun-kyun's own people would know about its existence.

insidious!

Besides those two words, Lu Ze and Li Jun couldn't think of any other words to describe Li Shanjun. From beginning to end, Li Shanjun had thought of solutions for everything that could be foreseen, paved the way for his escape route, and also laid out killing moves against those who resisted.

From the beginning until now, everything has been interconnected, with one link leading to another. There are many forks in the road for Lu Ze to choose from, but no matter what Lu Ze chooses, the best outcome will always be in Li Shanjun's hands. Lu Ze is furious, but he has to admit that when it comes to playing dirty tricks, ten of him can't outmaneuver one Li Shanjun.

This killer move completely disrupted Lu Ze and Li Jun's train of thought, turning their minds into mush. Li Jun was still trying his best to defend himself, but the disadvantage was already very obvious.

After two hours of debate, the presiding judge adjourned the court and announced the verdict at 2 p.m.

"Lu Ze, I'm so sorry, I... I really didn't expect Li Shanjun to have such a backup plan!"

"This has nothing to do with you. Nobody would have thought such a contract existed. Let it go."

Silence fell over the room. Lu Ze took out his cigarette pack, only to find it was empty. Frustrated, he crumpled the pack into a ball and threw it into the trash can. Leaning back in his chair, he rubbed his face vigorously.

"Aze, how about I get you some money? I can afford it. If not, just consider it a debt. Don't get so worked up, it's bad for your health."

"Let's talk about it later. Mr. Hu called me before and said he would pay this money for me, but I didn't accept it. I have even less face to accept your money. I'll think of a way myself. It's okay, Aunt Han."

The lunch break was three hours long, and no one ate during it, nor were they in the mood to eat. Lu Ze kept thinking about what valuable things he still had. He never thought about relying on anyone to plug this hole. From beginning to end, he was thinking about solving the problem himself.

When the court reconvened, both parties sat down again, focused their attention, and listened to the presiding judge's verdict.

"Based on the relevant provisions of the Contract Law, and after verifying the plaintiff's actual losses and anticipated future losses, amounting to 23,164,219.46 yuan, the judgment is as follows: Defendant Lu Ze shall compensate the plaintiff, 'Qian Shijia Media Co., Ltd.,' for losses of 23,164,219.46 yuan and pay liquidated damages of 6,949,265.83 yuan, totaling 30,113,485.29 yuan. Does the defendant agree to mediation? Does the defendant accept the first-instance judgment?"

At this moment, Lu Ze found it difficult to accept such a verdict. He looked at Li Jun, who was leaning on the table with his elbow and covering his forehead with his hand, like a defeated rooster. Li Jun knew he would lose this battle, but he never expected that the price of losing would be so heavy.

Lu Ze suddenly felt a pang of regret that after six years of great success, he had finally experienced a great fall. Like every celebrity who writes an autobiography, Lu Ze had also encountered his own low point. Unlike those celebrities, whose great falls might be real, Lu Ze's great fall was indeed real.

Not everyone can accept a low point gracefully, and Lu Ze didn't know if he could either, but things had already come to this point. You have to give it a try.

so.
"I agree."

"."

(End of this chapter)