‘High Earners’

“They pitch themselves to high earners as a one-stop shop that they will do everything for them," McRae said in a phone interview. “So, it’s not uncommon to hear complaints that they didn’t do what they were supposed to do."

In the Depp case, the business manager’s deflection of blame on the client is problematic because it raises the question of whether the company should have represented Depp if it wasn’t able to control him, according to McRae.

"If your client isn’t doing what you’re telling him, maybe it’s time to fire your client," McRae said.

The Management Group wouldn’t drop a long-term client during “his most difficult time,” Michael Kump, an attorney for TMG, said in an emailed statement.

“During the 17-year period they represented him, TMG was part of a team of advisers who acted in the very best interests of Depp and helped propel him to superstardom. The idea that Depp would have been better off without TMG is bizarre,” Kump said.

Beyond what Depp paid his business managers, his talent agency took 10 percent from the top of his income and his entertainment lawyer another 5 percent, according to the Management Group. After that he was on the hook for about 50 percent of his income in U.S. and California taxes, leaving a big dent in his hundreds of millions in movie residuals and other income. As a result, Depp was forced to take out loans at increasingly onerous terms to cover his expenses, the company said.

Home Foreclosure

The management company claims that Depp’s lawsuit was prompted by its decision to foreclose on his Los Angeles home. The residence was used as collateral for a $5 million loan the firm made to him in 2012 when City National Bank called in a loan that Depp couldn’t repay. Management Group started foreclosure procedures last year, months after Depp had fired the company and had failed to make payments on the still outstanding loan.

Depp alleges that the company’s failure to pay his taxes on time, its practice of loaning money from him to others, mismanagement of his expenses and “reckless borrowing” on his behalf are the reasons he suffered $25 million in damages. He’s also asking the court to stop the foreclosure of his home.