Judge Dismisses Terrence Howard’s Empire Pay Lawsuit Against CAA

Terrence Howard’s lawsuit against Creative Artists Agency over his compensation on Empire has been dismissed before trial.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Cherol Nellon ruled that Howard’s claimed damages were too speculative to continue, according to TheWrap and The Hollywood Reporter. Howard alleged that CAA failed to advocate adequately for him while also representing parties connected to the Fox drama.

The actor sought to increase his episodic salary from $325,000 to $750,000, along with profit participation and additional benefits. His complaint argued that conflicts inside the agency contributed to him accepting compensation below what the success of Empire should have commanded.

The court focused on the structure through which Howard was paid. The judge concluded that any increased payment from Fox would initially have gone to his loan-out company, Universal Bridges, making it uncertain whether the renegotiation would have produced personal damages recoverable in this case. The ruling also cited evidence that Fox rejected attempts to renegotiate the contract.

CAA said the dismissal confirmed its position that the agency advocated for Howard and acted in good faith. Howard’s lawsuit, filed in 2023, had raised a larger entertainment-business question about how agencies manage potential conflicts when they represent talent and other parties attached to the same production.

The decision resolves the case at the trial-court level, though it should not be described as a broad judicial endorsement of every Hollywood agency practice. The narrower finding was that Howard’s evidence of damages was legally insufficient for this lawsuit to proceed.