The legal standoff between Connoisseur Media CEO Jeffrey Warshaw and Soros Fund Management escalated on Thursday, as both SFM and its Head of Media Investments, Michael Del Nin, filed aggressive responses seeking to dismantle Warshaw’s lawsuit.
In a motion to dismiss filed July 10 in Bridgeport Superior Court, Del Nin’s attorneys argue that Connecticut courts lack jurisdiction over the civil claim against him. Simultaneously, Soros Fund filed a comprehensive 12-part Request to Revise the entire complaint, asserting that Warshaw’s allegations fail to meet basic pleading standards, omit critical facts, and rely on a speculative and undocumented agreement.
Warshaw alleges that Del Nin promised either to appoint him as CEO of Audacy or to grant him 5% of Soros Fund Management’s profits from a distressed debt investment in the broadcaster for his purported role in assisting with SFM’s acquisition of more than $400 million in Audacy debt during the broadcaster’s Chapter 11 restructuring.
Del Nin’s motion disputes the very premise of the lawsuit, calling the alleged agreement “implausible” and arguing that no binding deal ever existed. According to the filing, Soros Fund Management had already begun analyzing opportunities in the radio sector, including Audacy, long before Del Nin ever met Warshaw in 2022. Even if Warshaw believed such a deal had been struck, the motion states, it was never formalized in writing nor mentioned again in correspondence until the threat of legal action surfaced in 2025.
“Despite the fact that Mr. Del Nin did not know what purported opportunity he was going to be presented with, did not know the nature or terms of the investment, did not know the structure of the transaction, and could not know what potential profits SFM could stand to achieve from the transaction,” the filing reads, “Mr. Warshaw alleges that Mr. Del Nin agreed to these terms on behalf of SFM.”
The motion emphasizes that Warshaw’s location in Connecticut is not sufficient to establish jurisdiction over Del Nin, who lives and works in New York. In a sworn affidavit, Del Nin stated he owns a weekend property in Connecticut but conducted all relevant business from New York. He further attested that all in-person meetings with Warshaw took place in Manhattan and that the alleged October 2023 phone call happened while he was at work in SFM’s New York office.
Additionally, Del Nin acknowledged that Warshaw previously assisted with due diligence on a potential Cox Radio deal in mid-2023, but denied ever agreeing to merge Connoisseur Media, name Warshaw CEO, or offer him profit sharing, as Warshaw stated in his lawsuit.
If the court grants Del Nin’s motion, he would be dismissed from the case entirely. The remaining claims against Soros Fund Management would still stand, pending a decision on the Request to Revise or a subsequent motion to strike.
The jurisdictional challenge is just one part of a broader legal effort to pare down or eliminate the lawsuit. In its accompanying Request to Revise, Soros Fund Management demands that Warshaw’s complaint be rewritten to clarify multiple elements they say are vague or missing, including:
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Whether the alleged agreement was oral or written
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What specific terms were agreed to, including timelines and compensation
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How any of the alleged conduct qualifies under Connecticut’s consumer protection laws
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What, if any, Connecticut-based actions or trade were involved
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Who, besides Del Nin, Warshaw interacted with at SFM
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What precedent deals Warshaw references, and whether he was acting as a registered investment advisor
One of the key points of contention also centers on Warshaw’s claim under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. SFM’s filing says the complaint lacks the “who, what, when, and where” required to sustain such a claim and fails to show that any alleged unfair conduct took place in or affected trade within the state.
The firm also seeks to have separate counts filed against each defendant and requests compliance with procedural formatting rules, arguing that the current version of the complaint is confusing and improperly structured.
Either way, the filings make clear that Soros Fund intends to contest every aspect of the complaint before the case can proceed.
