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Audacy Suing JAKIB Media Owner for More than $400,000
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At The Philadelphia Inquirer, Rob Tornoe has details on Audacy suing JAKIB Media owner Joe Krause for more than $400,000 in non-payments for programming agreements.
It’s the fourth notable lawsuit filed against Krause in 2024, after Rob Ellis and Mike Missanelli sued earlier in the year for $8,000 and $65,000, respectively. Krause won the Ellis suit while the Missanelli litigation is ongoing. There’s a legal battle as well with a New York financing firm that’s seeking $240,000 for repayment of a cash advance.
Digging in a little further, the Audacy lawsuit is 94 pages long and was filed in May in Montgomery County’s Court of Common Pleas. It covers a period of a little more than four months between February of 2018 and June of 2022, and claims the following:
The filing goes on to say that with credits and adjustments, the total owed is $442,344, plus $23,610 in interest. There’s also $78,000 in legal fees written in there, with Audacy asking for a total judgment of $544,015 plus interest past the filing date. There’s an alternative argument as well, in which Audacy is alleging “unjust richment” as opposed to “breach of contract,” which gets a little bit into legalese, but essentially turns this into an either/or type of argument.
What follows is 75+ pages of signed contracts and other various exhibits, outlining the programming agreements that Audacy says are unpaid.
There’s also a signed copy of the debt repayment deal, and an itemized list showing all of the programming, which looks to be split between 1210 WPHT and Audacy’s digital properties:
Back in January, we wrote a story titled “JAKIB Media Contributors Say They’re Regularly Paid Months Late, or Not at All.” Based on what we heard from current and former talent, at the time, the unpaid money amounted to tens of thousands of dollars. Krause told Crossing Broad back then that “upon completion of their contract deliverables, every talent is paid what they’re owed, without exception.” He later told us, in response to the Mike Missanelli lawsuit, that Mike did not fulfill his contractual obligations and therefore was not paid.
He later told us this, in response to the Ellis lawsuit:
“Our Talent are hired as Independent Contractors and not employees. In the State of Pennsylvania, Independent contractors, work whenever and wherever they choose as long as they provide the work as promised by the contracted deadline. They are paid in full when they work & fulfill, NOT when they don’t. – The Court ruled in our favor in the Ellis Matter and will rule in our favor against Missanelli. For clarity, I have the most powerful Legal Firm in the Country representing me and I will not back down from anyone despite being called a scumbag by (Kyle Pagan).”
If you’ve watched any of the JAKIB Media shows lately, you’ve seen that the remaining talent is John McMullen, Dan Sileo, and Krause’s son, Zander. Over the past year and half, give or take, JAKIB has seen the departure of Ellis, Missanelli, Jody McDonald, Derrick Gunn, Seth Joyner, Eytan Shander, Harry Mayes, Barrett Brooks, Devan Kaney, Kayla Santiago, Marc Farzetta, Bill Colarulo, and others.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com