Lawsuit
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In the latest of many lawsuits against Kanye West, a singer who moonlights in security and construction has sued the rapper over back payments and dangerous conditions stemming from a late-2021 attempt to turn the hip-hop star’s Malibu home into an “open-concept, industrial-brutalist, art-style dwelling that’s also a bomb shelter-bunker,” according to the complaint.
In a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed Wednesday (Sept. 13), Tony Saxon alleges he injured his back while working on the project and had to spend days at the property with no food or bedding. Accusing West, who legally changed his name to Ye, of disability discrimination, labor-code violations and unlawful wage withholding, Saxon claims the rapper promised him $20,000 a week, but after a month on the job, he received just $20,000 total, plus $120,000 for reimbursement of construction costs.
According to the lawsuit, which is requesting unspecified “monetary relief,” Saxon complained to Ye that he was “ill due to his severe injury on his back and that he needs to rest.” However, “Defendant disregarded Plaintiff’s concerns and instead responded by asking to discuss the next phase of the project.”
In an interview from his attorney’s Los Angeles office, Saxon says he requested a meeting with Ye and the project leader, then wound up in a room with them as well as “50 random people.” Ye mentioned his desire to install generators inside the building, which Saxon suggested would be unsafe, and the rapper became angry. “He told me I was a Clinton, a Kardashian, an enemy, and I was not going to be his friend anymore,” Saxon says. “So that’s how that ended.”
Saxon, 32, who describes himself as a recording artist, DJ and soul singer, says his music-business connections led him to a fashion photographer who put him in touch with the head of Ye’s construction project. In September 2021, Ye had reportedly purchased a Malibu house built by renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando for more than $57 million. Soon after that, Saxon worked on the house for three straight days without knowing the owner’s identity. Ye then showed up and requested to “rip out the finest marble and all these crazy fixtures that wired the house.”
Says Saxon: “It was just absurd.”
Ron Zambrano, Saxon’s attorney, also represents a gym teacher at Ye’s Donda Academy who filed suit in July over unsafe conditions. Among other things, the school did not contain windows, because, according to the teacher’s lawsuit, Ye “did not like glass.”
“What we’re seeing are the symptoms of Kanye’s inability to respect people’s time and pay for them,” Zambrano says. “He goes into people’s lives: ‘I have an idea, I have lots of money, you have to drop everything in the world and I promise to pay you.’ Then he gets bored and goes somewhere else and normal people get left in the lurch.” Zambrano adds that if you “do the math,” potential damages could add up to “seven figures.”
Attorneys for Ye did not respond to Billboard‘s requests for comment.
The Harlem Festival of Culture was supposed to be a celebration of music and coming together, inspired by the Academy Award-winning documentary Summer of Soul directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson — but a recent lawsuit filed in New York paints a picture of an event plagued by in-fighting and mistrust between the event’s three founding members.
On Thursday (Sept. 8), two of the members of the Harlem Festival of Culture LLC — editor and activist Musa Jackson (who appeared in Summer of Soul) and culture and lifestyle entrepreneur Nikoa Evans filed suit against partner and co-founder Yvonne McNair, accusing her of mounting “a hostile takeover” of the festival, scheduled to take place July 28, 29 and 30 on Randall’s Island in New York.
McNair plans to fight the lawsuit, telling Billboard, “I have worked tirelessly over the past several years to bring the Harlem Festival of Culture to life. I am relying upon my legal team to guide this process and I will be in touch with factual updates in the future.”
The festival was to be hosted by MC Lyte and feature performances by Adam Blackstone, Eric Bellinger, Jozzy, MAJOR., Ma$e, Remy Ma, Ro James, Tink and Wyclef Jean — with a special concert series leading up to the festival to be held at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater. The event was canceled hours before it was set to open on July 28 due to President Joe Biden’s heat advisory for the weekend, which was the first-ever national hazard alert for heat issued by the White House.
The lawsuit paints a picture of a festival in constant turmoil beginning in February of this year as McNair began courting sponsors for the event, booking talent and contracting production companies to produce it. Jackson and Evans accuse McNair of diverting festival funds to accounts McNair controlled while McNair accuses Jackson and Evans of misappropriating funds and claims that a charitable donation of $125,000 had gone unaccounted for.
Jackson and Evans eventually informed McNair that their combined votes gave them majority control, demanding McNair get their approval for any sponsorship or booking agreements she negotiated. On April 19, Jackson and Evans ordered McNair to postpone the launch of ticket sales for the Harlem Festival of Culture. With the event suspended, McNair allegedly attempted to rename the event “Uptown Fest” and move forward with the festival. Eventually, the NYC Parks Department, AMC and Ticketmaster staged an intervention and demanded the three partners resolve their disagreement, leading to a settlement on May 22.
The truce didn’t last long, and within a few days, disagreements over vendors, sponsors and how much artists were being paid to perform at the festival reignited the feud and led to new complaints from Jackson and Evans over how McNair was advising vendors to prepare for the event. The pair even criticized McNair for waiting too long to cancel the festival after learning of the heat advisory.
Jackson and Evans, through their lawyer Kenneth Sternberg of Sternberg Law, are suing McNair on 15 civil counts including breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. They are also seeking “a judgment declaring that McNair is solely responsible for any liability” linked to any transactions or contracts that Jackson or Evans didn’t personally approve of, “regardless of the name in which the contract was signed.” Sternberg is also asking that McNair be forced to pay $2 million for punitive and compensatory damage, plus interest.
Sean “Diddy” Combs just scored a significant win in his case against alcohol giant Diageo after a judge denied two crucial motions filed by the liquor maker, according to court documents filed Thursday.
Combs himself was present in court for the ruling, during which New York state judge Joel M. Cohen rejected Diageo’s motions for the case to be dismissed or, alternatively, sent to private arbitration. The case will now move forward in state court, with the trial open to the public.
The lawsuit, brought by Combs in May, claims Diageo breached its partnership deal with the artist and entrepreneur for its DeLeón Tequila by failing to properly support the brand, thereby harming its sales. Combs’ lawsuit also leveled accusations of racism against the alcohol company, accusing it of treating his product line “worse than others because he is Black.”
In June, Diageo fired back by calling Combs’ racism accusations “false and reckless” and part of an effort to “extract additional billions” from the company while concurrently filing motions for dismissal or arbitration. At the same time, a spokeswoman for Diageo noted the company had permanently severed its business relationship with Combs, claiming the rapper had “repeatedly undermined our partnerships and threatened to publicly defame Diageo if we did not meet his unreasonable financial demands.” The company additionally painted Combs as “an unreliable and untrustworthy business partner” who failed in his obligations to support DeLeón.
In asking Cohen to keep the case out of court, the company argued that the “garden variety” business dispute should have been decided under a binding arbitration agreement previously signed by both parties. But the judge clearly disagreed, striking down Diageo’s motions after hearing oral arguments from attorneys on both sides of the case for more than 90 minutes on Thursday.
“This case has always been about getting fair and equal treatment,” said Combs’ lawyer John Hueston in a statement. “Today’s decision is an important step in the right direction. Diageo tried to end this action. Today the judge soundly rejected that effort.”
Combs added, “I’m fighting for fair and equal treatment for everyone. This isn’t just about me. I look forward to continuing this fight in court. We all deserve the same 24 hours.”
A spokesperson for Diageo sent the following statement: “While we are disappointed with yesterday’s procedural decision, it is important to underscore that this is not a ruling on the merits of the claims, which we maintain are false and baseless. We are currently considering all legal options.”
Kanye West filed a lawsuit in California on Wednesday (Sept. 6) against the individual or entities responsible for taking and distributing copies of his music that have ended up on social media.
In the complaint, the artist, who now goes by Ye, alleges trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract due to the unauthorized leaks of copyrighted works on both Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), arguing they have caused “substantial harm” to his reputation.
Ye’s lawyers claim that starting on Mar. 3, 2023, the owner of the @daunreleasedgod_ handle on Instagram went on a leaking spree of unreleased tracks, including “We Did it Kid,” “Shy Can’t Look,” “NASDAQ” and “Mr. Miyagi,” as well as collaborations with artists including DJ Khaled and unauthorized video footage of a Donda listening party.
The rapper’s complaint goes on to cite the @daunreleasedgod_ account on X for similarly posting unauthorized leaks on dates ranging from mid-June to late August. “Ye has suffered significant financial losses and damages as a direct result of the Defendants’ actions,” the suit alleges.
The lawsuit does not name @daunreleasedgod_ or any of its other variations as a defendant in the case, only that it was the main distribution vehicle for the leaks.
Ye’s lawsuit indicates that he “does not know the true names or capacities” of the defendants who leaked the tracks to the Instagram or X user(s), but believes that those individuals were required to sign confidentiality agreements with him before they were given access to the compositions. By leaking and distributing the tracks, the defendants breached their contract with the artist and owe him damages and any profits generated, the complaint adds.
The filing continues that the “distinctive arrangement and unique elements” found in Ye’s music amount to a trade secret “due to its economic value, secrecy, and the efforts taken to safeguard it” and that the defendants violated their contract with Ye when they “knowingly and unlawfully acquired, disclosed, and distributed” those unique works.
The case, filed by Gregory K. Nelson of Weeks Nelson, seeks to restrain the defendants and “those acting in concert with them or at their direction” from further exploitation of Ye’s compositions and demands damages, fees and other costs. While the identities of the defendants are not yet public, “Ye will amend its Complaint to set forth the true names and capacities of these defendants when they have been ascertained.”
Coldplay’s former manager, Dave Holmes, is suing the band for more than £10 million ($12 million) in damages and outstanding payments, according to documents filed in the London High Court.
Holmes managed Coldplay for more than two decades, helping the British group become one of the world’s biggest rock acts prior to being dismissed by them in late 2022.
In legal papers filed in the U.K. courts, which have been viewed by Billboard, attorneys for Holmes say he is suing the four members of Coldplay — Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin — for more than £10 million ($12 million) over the defendants’ “failure and refusal to comply” with the terms of their management contract. News of the lawsuit was first reported by Variety last month.
The dispute centers around a proposed contract agreement that Holmes says the band entered into with his California-based management company, DHMC, relating to Coldplay’s yet-to-be-released tenth and eleventh studio albums and related tours, which the former manager claims he is due unpaid commission on.
According to the lawsuit, filed Aug. 11 in the U.K. Business and Property Courts, Coldplay received an advance of £35 million ($44 million) for its tenth album from Warner Music Group-owned Parlophone Records. Holmes says he also negotiated advances of £15 million ($19 million) each for the group’s subsequent two studio albums as part of the extension of Coldplay’s recording contract with Parlophone, signed in June 2021.
One month later, Holmes was paid £1.5 million ($1.9 million) by the band, representing his 10% commission fee from the initial £15 million advance payment Coldplay received from the label for its tenth album. Holmes was paid a further £1.5 million ($1.9 million) in October 2021 but says the band still owes him outstanding commission from the record company advances.
In addition, Holmes claims he is due payment for “extensive services” his company carried out relating to the prospective albums and touring schedules prior to his termination as manager.
These services allegedly include scheduling, marketing, budgeting, sponsorship and ticket pricing for the U.S., Asia and Australia legs of the 2022/23 “Music of the Spheres” world tour, as well as work on the band’s next two releases, such as arranging writing and recording sessions in Jamaica and London and preparing promotional campaigns.
Listed among the services Holmes says he and his team carried out for Coldplay’s as-yet-unscheduled tenth album are budgeting and marketing activities, clearing an instrumental sample from musician Hal Walker, arranging a recording session on a film set in Boston, and liaising with producer Max Martin’s manager to arrange recording and production sessions.
Holmes also claims that preparatory work was carried out around possible touring scenarios in 2024/25, including meeting with promoters.
According to legal papers filed by Holmes’ attorneys, Coldplay argues that a contract agreement for the band’s tenth and eleventh albums was never concluded and that commission deals between Holmes and the group for any of its previous nine albums, including the group’s first two releases, expired at the end of last year.
Although the cause of the fallout between Holmes and Coldplay is not detailed in the lawsuit, court documents do reveal that Coldplay asked Holmes to step down from managing the band in June last year and instead become head of touring, whereby he would receive commission on touring and live performance revenue but forgo payment on recording or publishing revenue.
According to the lawsuit, in September, Coldplay’s solicitors wrote to Holmes to inform him that the head of touring proposal was no longer on offer and his involvement with the band was to officially end Dec. 31, 2022. Since then, the band has been managed by long-term associates Phil Harvey, Mandi Frost and Arlene Moon.
Holmes is now asking the U.K. courts to determine if the so-called “Albums 10/11 Agreement” stands and for Coldplay to pay him any outstanding commission, as per its terms. Alternatively, his attorneys are asking that Holmes receive “reasonable remuneration in respect” of the services he carried out for the multi-million-selling British band.
“Dave Holmes successfully managed Coldplay for more than 22 years, steering them to be one of the most successful bands in music history. Now, as the legal case shows, Coldplay is refusing to honor Dave’s management contract and pay him what he is owed,” says Holmes’ lawyer, Phil Sherrell, in a statement provided to Billboard.
Representatives for Coldplay confirmed with Billboard that Holmes’ management contract with the four-piece expired at the end of 2022 “at which point they decided not to start a new one. The matter is now in the hands of Coldplay’s lawyers and the claims are being vigorously disputed.”
A tribute band that was sued by Earth, Wind & Fire for trademark infringement is firing back with a bold counterargument: That the famed R&B act has actually abandoned any intellectual property rights to its name.
In a court filing on Wednesday (Aug. 30), the smaller band — which calls itself Earth Wind & Fire Legacy Reunion — argued that the original group had allowed so many tribute bands to use its name without repercussion that it can no longer claim exclusive rights to it.
“Due to the unchecked third-party use of the phrase, [EW&F] has abandoned ‘Earth, Wind & Fire,’ and [the name] has lost its trademark significance,” wrote attorneys for Substantial Music Group, which operates Legacy Reunion.
The new filing listed out a dozen other tribute acts that allegedly feature “Earth, Wind & Fire” as part of their name, including “September: A Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire” and “Let’s Groove Tonight: The Ultimate Earth, Wind & Fire Tribute Band,” as well as even simpler names like simply “Earth Wind & Fire Tribute.”
“[The band] has taken no action to enforce its purported trademark rights against any of the third-party vocal and instrument groups that have been using the phrase,” Legacy Reunion wrote in Wednesday’s filing. “The present civil action represents the first occasion on which Counter-Defendant has sought to enforce its registered trademarks against another party.”
Earth, Wind & Fire has continued to tour since founder Maurice White died in 2016, led by longtime members Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson and White’s brother, Verdine White. The band operates under a license from Earth Wind & Fire IP, a holding company owned by Maurice White’s sons that formally owns the name.
In a March lawsuit, that company accused Legacy Reunion of trying to trick consumers into thinking it was the real Earth Wind & Fire. Though it called itself a “Reunion,” the lawsuit said the tribute band contained only a few “side musicians” who briefly played with Earth, Wind & Fire many years ago.
“Defendants did this to benefit from the commercial magnetism and immense goodwill the public has for plaintiff’s ‘Earth, Wind & Fire’ marks and logos, thereby misleading consumers and selling more tickets at higher prices,” the group’s lawyers wrote.
Tribute acts — groups that exclusively cover the music of a particular band — are legally allowed to operate, and they often adopt names that allude to the original. But they must be clear that they are a tribute band, and they can get into legal hot water if they make it appear that they are affiliated with or endorsed by the original. In 2021, ABBA filed a similar trademark lawsuit against a band that had been touring under the name ABBA Mania, calling it “parasitic”; that suit was quickly settled after ABBA Mania agreed to stop using the name.
According to Earth, Wind & Fire’s lawyers, the use of “Legacy Reunion” was not a clear enough distinction. The lawsuit cited alleged examples of angry consumers who mistakenly bought tickets for the wrong band, including one that read, “This was not Earth Wind and Fire. NO Philip Bailey or Verdine White. It was just a band playing Earth Wind and Fire music. I purchased 3 tickets and I was very disappointed. It was truly false advertisement. I want my money back!!!!!”
Wednesday’s filing came as a so-called “answer and counterclaims” — a standard response to any lawsuit, in which a defendant like Legacy Reunion can formally deny the accusations and level their own at their opponent.
In its counterclaims, Legacy Reunion argued that the band’s lack of enforcement against other tribute bands means that its trademark to “Earth, Wind & Fire” should be formally “cancelled.”
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Future has one less thing to worry about thanks to a judge that is tune with the culture. Judge Martha Pacold referenced some classic works when dismissing a copyright lawsuit.
As spotted on TMZ the trapper turned rapper was sued about two years ago by DaQuan Robinson. The man claimed he created a song titled “When I Think About It” and sent the work to Future’s team. In 2017 Pluto released on the Beastmode 2 mixtape which featured his song “When U Think About It”. Robinson claims that Future lifted elements from his version and even spoke on a lot of the same content he did. Fast forward to 2023, Judge Pacold threw out his case citing that those themes are generally found in many Rap songs and are not protected by copyright.
The magistrate went on to further detail her ruling by referring to earlier works from The Notorious B.I.G., Kanye West and even the Wu-Tang Clan. She also cited Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s hit song “Our House” regarding Robinson’s “core lyric” copyright claim. “The core lyric, ‘our house is a very, very, very fine house,’ is used to support the entire rest of the song, which uses the house and its constituent elements as the setting for the narrator’s relationship,” said Pacold. “This songwriting technique is not unique to Robinson, nor mid-century Canadian-American bands that feature intricate vocal harmonies. The mere use of a ‘core lyric’ to support a song’s storyline is not protectable element because it is a frequently utilized technique in popular songwriting.”
Future has yet to comment on the favorable ruling.
Photo: PhotosByBeanz
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A stagehand hired to prepare The Weeknd‘s After Hours Til Dawn Tour stopover at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on August 14, 2022, has filed suit against Live Nation Entertainment, alleging his leg was run over by a forklift while the stage was being built.
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Stagehand Steve Genovese was reportedly working for a company hired by Live Nation to construct the stage for the concert when the accident occurred. The complaint alleges five counts of civil liability including negligence, negligent hiring and gross negligence.
“Genovese was reported ‘run over by a forklift which was being operated by another worker on site,’” the complaint reads. “As a result, plaintiff suffered severe, excruciatingly painful and permanently disabling injuries to his leg. The flesh and muscle were torn away from his leg and were detached from the bones.”
The lawsuit also names concert promoter C3 Presents, business management firm David Weise & Associates and Cowboys Stadium, LP (which owns AT&T Stadium) as defendants. The Weeknd is not listed as a defendant.
“Defendants had the knowledge, ability, and duty to prevent the severe and life-altering injuries,”the complaint reads, but allegedly “placed more value on their own financial gain than on the safety of the workers who helped put on The Weeknd concert.”
According to the suit, there was no ambulance or EMS personnel on site when the accident occurred, which “significantly delayed” medical care. The complaint continues: “[Genovese] spent more than a month in the hospital where he underwent numerous surgeries to save his leg, which is now horrifically and permanently disfigured and impaired.”
Genovese is seeking damages for medical expenses, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish and emotional distress, loss of earning and earning capacity, physical impairment, disfigurement, “loss of society and enjoyment of life,” out of pocket expenses and more.
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After a year of back-and-forth in a court of law, Nike and a Kool Kiy partner have reached a settlement on a trademark infringement lawsuit that the Swoosh brand filed against Kool Kiy in 2022.
Nice Kicks is reporting that Nike and Kool Kiy partners David Weeks and Nickwon Arvinger have seemingly settled their lawsuit filed, Aug. 23, in which Nike accused the up and coming brand of straight biting their Air Jordan 1 silhouette with minor differences and making a profit off of it. Real talk, a lot of heads were copping those Kool Kiy kicks as they weren’t half bad. Yes, they looked like OG Air Jordan 1s, but instead of a Swoosh check they sported a lightning bolt logo on the side.
Nice Kicks reports:
The court ordered that defendant David Weeks admit that Nike is the exclusive owner of all registered trademarks named in the lawsuit.
Additionally, the judge ordered that Weeks would no longer be able to produce and distribute Kool Kiy’s shoes.
On February 15, Kool Kiy filed a counter lawsuit that stated that customers wanted a product different from the “norm” and that Kool Kiy’s registered Lightning Bolt trademark logo did not resemble the Nike Swoosh. The new ruling dismissed all of Kool Kiy’s counterclaims against Nike.
Yeah, the reasoning behind Kool Kiy’s countersuit didn’t have a chance in hell. Just sayin’.
The news comes a year after Nike reached a settlement with John Geiger over his trademark Infringement as he was using the Nike Air Force 1 silhouette to create his own GF-01 sneakers that bore a striking resemblance to the classic Nike silhouette.
In the past few years, Nike hasn’t been scared to flex their legal muscle as they’ve been suing any and everyone they feel are exploiting their products for their own personal financial gain. From custom designers to Stock X, no one is safe if they’re messing with Nike’s billion dollar empire. Heck, if you go viral for dancing wrong in a pair of SB Dunks, Nike might serve you with a legal notice to stop dancing in their products. It’s that real.
What do y’all think of Nike settling with Kool Kiy? Will you miss the Kool Kiy kicks with the lightening bolt? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Quavo‘s assistant, who was one of three people wounded in the November 2022 shooting in Houston that killed Migos rapper Takeoff, filed a lawsuit against the venue Wednesday (Aug. 16) for failing to provide adequate security, screening or emergency assistance before or after the incident.
Joshua Washington, who was working as Quavo’s personal assistant at the time of the tragedy, is suing 810 Billiards and Bowling, its owners and property managers over the incident. He is being represented by civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers of the Strom Law Firm and Audia Jones of the Law Office of Audia Jones.
“810 Houston was warned that they needed extra security. They knew it was a hotspot for violent crime and that an after-hours event like this could turn deadly in a second,” said Sellers in a statement. “But they ignored those warnings and now they have blood on their hands. This shooting was a tragedy. But it was a preventable tragedy.”
According to the lawsuit, defendants 810 Houston, LVA4 Houston Greenstreet, Lionstone Partners, Midway Companies and Cushman & Wakefeld of Texas “provided no screening mechanisms, no after-hours controls or security measures, and no enforcement of rules or industry standards to deter crime against their invitees.” The suit also states that while the shooting was taking place, “no security personnel or personnel from the venue responded or otherwise attempted to deter or end the violence.”
“They had no properly trained security personnel, adequate signage, lighting or cameras. They had no screening to keep out weapons. They didn’t even have a working metal detector,” Jones said in a statement. “This was a powder keg of their own making and folks like Takeoff and Joshua Washington got caught in the explosion.”
Takeoff (real name Kirshnik Khari Ball) was shot and killed in the wee hours of Nov. 1, 2022. He was 28.
Washington, who was an innocent bystander, was shot in his right side by stray bullets, which entered about an inch from his colon. And because the elevators and escalators at the venue “were not operational before, during, or after the event,” he claimed in the suit that he had to run down three flights of stairs while sustaining serious personal injuries, find his own way to the hospital and spend approximately one to two days there while seeking the care of medical professionals. Washington had the bullet from his right side removed, but doctors were unable to remove the bullet fragments. He currently resides in Georgia.
“There was no one. The bullets started flying and no one came to help,” Washington said in a statement. “There were no security guards trying to stop the shooting, no one to help those of us who were hurt, no one at all. They just left us there to die.”
Washington’s lawsuit was filed just two months after Takeoff’s mother, Titania Davenport, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Houston bowling alley.
Representatives for 810 Billiards & Bowling did not respond to Billboard‘s request for comment at press time.
You can read the full lawsuit below.