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Tag: law suit

  • Da Brat Ordered To Pay $6.4 Million For Assaulting Cheerleader

    A Cobb County court jury has ordered Grammy-nominated rapper Da Brat to pay $6.4 million in damages to the Atlanta cheerleader she assaulted in 2007. The punishment was meted out on Thursday afternoon.

    Da Brat, whose real name is Shawntae Harris, served almost three years in prison for brutally attacking former Atlanta Falcons cheerleader Shayla Stevens with a rum bottle during an argument at an Atlanta nightclub owned by Jermaine Dupri . According to Stevens’ lawyer Mark Link, his client sustained grave injuries that affected her brain’s functions. Although Stevens has survived her brain injury, she has suffered from mental anguish as well as a permanent scar on her face, both of which have prevented her from pursuing her cheerleading career.

    Stevens filed a civil lawsuit against the Funkdafied hit maker in 2009 to which Harris pleaded guilty. Apart from serving three years at Arrendale State Prison, Harris was also ordered a seven-year probation period, 200 hours worth of community service, anger management classes, mental evaluation, and treatment for substance abuse. Now, Da Brat must pay Stevens $3.7 million and $2.7 million in compensatory and punitive damages, respectively.

    Shayla Stevens, Da Brat’s victim, testifies in court

    Harris’ lawyer B.J. Bernstein is surprised that his client was still ordered to pay millions despite that fact that she admitted to the charges and served her time. He said that they are still in the process of planning an appeal.

    The 39-year-old rapper and actress rose to fame when she released her debut album entitled Funkdafied. Hip hop tycoon Jermaine Dupri signed her to his label So So Def and molded her to be the “female Snoop Dogg”. Harris was previously involved in a misdemeanor reckless conduct charge in 2001 when she beat a woman with a gun at another Atlanta nightclub. Harris pleaded guilty to the charge and paid a $1,000 fine, served a year-long probation period, and put in 80 hours of community service.

    Da Brat: Life After Prison (explicit language)

    http://youtu.be/EAKmQI48iww

    “Funkdafied”: The Hit That Made Da Brat Famous

    http://youtu.be/LHXlk_h51-c

    Image via YouTube

  • Lisa Kudrow And Ex-Manager Battle Over Millions

    Lisa Kudrow testified in a Santa Monica, Calif. courtroom yesterday as to whether or not she owed her ex-manager Scott Howard a substantial amount of money.

    Howard represented Kudrow during her highest level of fame: as an actress on the smash hit comedy, Friends.

    Through negotiations as the series blew up in popularity, Kudrow was able to see her earnings balloon from $13,500 an episode to nearly several million dollars by the time the series ended in 2004.

    Kudrow and Howard parted ways three years later.

    The enraged ex-manager is now claiming the two had an “oral agreement” that Kudrow has since reneged on. According to Howard, Kudrow had promised that he would continue to receive 5% of profits earned from their time together even after their work relationship ended.

    Before being fired, Howard saw his share of earnings cut from 10% to 5% as Kudrow stated that at the time she didn’t think it was fair that Howard was earning more than the agents. Later during a conversation with Howard, Kudrow mentioned that everyone around her was letting go of their managers.

    Said Kudrow, “I think I wanted him to know that having a manager was unnecessary.”

    Necessary or not, a deal is a deal as far as Howard is concerned. He is suing the actress for $1.8 million over fees that Howard feels he was denied despite Kudrow continuing to earn royalties.

    Said Howard of the alleged verbal agreement, “I always believed that a personal handshake kind of cemented that personal relationship, and that anything more formal felt awkward.”

    Awkward or not, something more formal such as a signed document may have made things easier on the former manager. Especially since Kudrow is telling a different story altogether.

    According to the actress’s testimony, she promised Howard nothing beyond the first round of residuals.

    Over $8 million is said to be at stake in the ongoing case.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Lisa Kudrow Testifies Against Former Manager

    Lisa Kudrow testified on Thursday against a former manager who handled her affairs during her days as a Friends star. Scott Howard claims the actress owes him 5 percent of her earnings between 1991 and 2007. Howard filed the suit against Kudrow back in 2008 and the case has been making its way through several courts.

    The Friends star–known for her hilarious role as Phoebe Buffay–spent about two hours on the stand in a Santa Monica court room on Thursday. Sources say she had a lighthearted, pleasant demeanor throughout the questioning. She became offended at one point, however, when Marc Baute–Scott Howard’s attorney–claimed “when she was making money she signed written agreements,” but when it was about someone else making money she didn’t. Baute even indicated at one point that she was behaving like Phoebe Buffay–rather air headed.

    Per her testimony, Lisa Kudrow told the court she started on Friends making $13,500 per episode. In 2000 her pay had increased to more than a million dollars per episode in addition to $5 million in “back-end compensation.” She still makes money from the show, which ran from 1994-2004.

    The lawsuit alleges that Kudrow agreed verbally to pay Howard a commission on all of her earnings she made during their business relationship. She claims that she agreed to pay him commission based solely on one round of residuals.

    Howard replied, “I can’t agree. I don’t do that for any of my clients.”

    Lisa Kudrow says she kept Howard on as more of a formality, noting that she didn’t really need him any more. She didn’t believe he should make the same kind of money as agents so she reduced his take from 10 percent to 5 percent instead.

    “My intention was I didn’t think it was fair that Scott got more than the agents,” said Kudrow. “I felt like the attorneys did so much towards making these deals that it seemed fair that no one got a higher share than the attorney.”

    By 2007 she determined she didn’t need Howard’s services at all. She said she was initially pleased with his energy but the relationship had soured.

    “I know for sure that once I was on Friends, I didn’t love having him come to every taping,” she said.

    It was then that Lisa Kudrow fired Scott Howard.

    Approximately $8 million is at stake in this court case, with Howard determined he deserves her post-termination commissions. Kudrow opposes that.

    It will certainly be interesting to see how this law suit turns out. Will the Friends star suddenly find herself $8 million poorer? Or will former manager Scott Howard walk away sans what he believes is his fair commission from the TV and film star?

    Do you think Lisa Kudrow owes her former manager this money?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons