[6] In the drama, Sima Yi; in real life, a Husky—Wu Xiubo has messed up both in love and business.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival short holiday, Wu Xiubo was exposed by a 25-year-old actress for an extramarital affair, suspected of secretly having affairs outside his marriage, which caused a huge stir. Before the National Day long holiday even began, Wu Xiubo was again exposed to be deeply entangled in business disputes: 'The Advisor Alliance,' which he invested in, starred in, and was a hot-selling production, has sparked up to five criminal and civil cases due to profit distribution issues, one of which, a civil case, was heard in court this June.
Although the ancients said, 'Fortune never comes in pairs, and misfortune never comes alone,' Wu Xiubo experiencing two setbacks in both love and business in a short period is truly intriguing. Matters in the crotch are hard for outsiders to know. Therefore, those who can reveal private matters can only be close people, and the reason close people turn from friends to enemies is either for love or money. Otherwise, why would the long-concealed scandal of Lao Mouzi secretly marrying and having several children only come to light and result in a heavy penalty of over 7 million after he fell out with investors? Shortly after, the state announced the relaxation of the two-child policy, so Lao Mouzi was indeed extremely wronged back then! However, the economic disputes, and even criminal cases, triggered by 'The Advisors Alliance,' according to current media reports, are equally complex, fascinating, and thought-provoking, and are circumstances that film and television companies should pay serious attention to.
According to the trial broadcast records in June of this year, the project "The Advisors Alliance" had successively involved the following agreements: the "Joint Investment Agreement" and "Supplementary Agreement I," which stipulated that Huali Company and Mengjiangwei Company each held a 50% investment share in the series. There was no objection from any party regarding these two agreements. Subsequently, both parties signed "Supplementary Agreement II," a "Memorandum," and "Supplementary Agreement III." The main content was: Huali transferred 45% of its investment earnings rights to Bu'er Company, which is 100% controlled by Wu Xiubo, "without premium"; Mengjiangwei also transferred its 50% investment share to Bu'er Company. In another agreement, Huali transferred its remaining 5% investment share to another company. After these agreements, the original contractor and leading actor's company, Bu'er Company, along with Wu Xiubo, became the biggest winners, holding a 95% share and becoming the largest investor and distributor. The most dramatic development was that, according to a judicial appraisal by the Nanjing Southeast Judicial Appraisal Center, the official seal representing Huali on these agreements was forged! The manipulator was Zhang Jian, the legal representative of Bu'er Company at the time!
Based on this, Huali demanded to share the profits of 'The Advisor Alliance' according to the 'Joint Investment Agreement' and 'Supplementary Agreement I,' while Meng Jiangwei, Bu Er Company, and Wu Xiubo claimed that 'Supplementary Agreement II,' 'Memorandum,' and 'Supplementary Agreement III' were still valid, arguing that according to Zhang Jian's confession, his act of forging Huali's official seal was directed by Huali's senior management. At the same time, Zhang Jian had also served as a senior executive at Huali; in 2013, he, as Huali's deputy general manager, liaised with Wu Xiubo on the 'Sima Yi-themed TV series,' and in 2015, Zhang Jian took the initiative to propose and served as the legal representative of Bu Er Company. Wu Xiubo's side believes Zhang Jian has the characteristics of Huali's agent. Even more sensationally, as the producer of 'The Advisor Alliance,' Zhang Jian is also suspected of embezzling production funds!
A still of Wu Xiubo in 'The Advisors Alliance' (image source: internet)
Whether Wu Xiubo's side's claim can stand largely depends on whether Zhang Jian constitutes an apparent agent of Huali's side. However, according to current reports, Wu Xiubo's side has not been able to provide evidence showing that Zhang Jian presented any authorization documents from Huali's side, even forged ones, when signing 'Supplementary Agreement II,' the 'Memorandum,' and 'Supplementary Agreement III.' Therefore, even though Zhang Jian once held an executive position at Huali, this is still insufficient to establish apparent agency. As a result, Wu Xiubo's side simply passed the ball to the public security authorities, filing a report accusing Zhang Jian of colluding with Huali in contract fraud and leaving it to the police to gather evidence.
The reason Wu Xiubo got caught up in a series of disputes over 'The Advisors Alliance' that could potentially cause him to lose everything, on the surface, seems to be that he didn’t figure out whether Zhang Jian 'surname Jiang or surname Wang.' But in essence, it was still treating the signing of the contract as a joke — one party's legal representative acting as the legal representative for the other party, one person holding two positions signing a contract on behalf of two legal entities; for one party, it’s no different from using someone else's dog to guard your own door! Wu Xiubo created a big joke out of contract signing.
A warm reminder from Lawyer Zhiming: Be cautious when signing contracts (image source: internet)
Contracts, major company matters, matters of life and death, and matters of survival and extinction must not be overlooked. For a company, in addition to having professionals carefully review the contract text, the process of signing the contract must also receive sufficient attention. First, the company should not only determine whether the signatory is qualified, but also further assess whether there are risks even if they are qualified. In this case, even if Zhang Jian obtained written authorization from Huali and can legally represent Huali Company, Wu Xiubo's side should not agree to have Zhang Jian sign the contract. Second, when signing a contract, it is preferable to have both signatures and stamps to avoid risks arising from rubber stamps. Finally, the company should retain email correspondence with the other party during the contract drafting process and prepare a dedicated memorandum of the contract signing process for both parties to sign, which will help reconstruct the contract drafting and signing process in the future and further reduce potential dispute risks.
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