Legal News
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The Jenni Rivera Estate has filed a lawsuit against Cintas Acuario, a West Coast-based indie label owned by the late singer’s father Don Pedro Rivera. Ayana Musical, another music company also owned by him, is named in a complaint filed on Wednesday (Sept. 20) in California by Jacquelin Campos — who last year took over as head of the Jenni Rivera estate.
According to the 39-page lawsuit, before and after the singer’s untimely death in 2012, the música mexicana star’s father, along with the companies aforementioned, “exploited” sound recordings and musical compositions written, recorded, produced and performed by Jenni during her lifetime. Furthermore, the defendants “exploited Jenni’s name, image and likeness to the tune of tens of millions of dollars,” the complaint alleges.
The civil case also claims that the plaintiffs have “repeatedly” asked the companies to “act in accordance to the terms of agreements entered into by Jenni during the early part of her career” and to stop claiming to own and control rights to Jenni’s music. The companies have refused to do so, according to the suit, which is why the Jenni Rivera Estate has decided to file the lawsuit, “holding each of them liable for their unlawful acts” and seeking the return of money collected and withheld from the plaintiffs.
While owned by Don Pedro Rivera, the lawsuit says the day-to-day operations of the company are carried out by Jenni’s siblings, Rosie Rivera — who previously served as head of the Jenni Rivera estate — and Juan Rivera. “This matter provides a perfect illustration of the significant and lasting impact that money, power, and greed can have on a family,” the lawsuit reads.
Cintas Acuario did not return Billboard‘s request for comment at press time.
Jenni entered her first recording agreement with Cintas Acuario in 1993 when she began her career. According to the lawsuit, the three-year deal provided Cintas with “several” rights to the sound recordings and albums recorded, produced and distributed under the 1993 Recording Agreement. It also granted the rights to manufacture and distribute merchandise in connection to the promotion and sale of her music. In return, Cintas was “obligated” to provide Jenni with statements and make royalty payments to her on a quarterly basis. According to the complaint, “the obligation to account and pay royalties owed to Jenni in connection with the 1993 deal was never waived or otherwise terminated. Thus, the foregoing obligations subsisted in favor of plaintiffs as Jenni’s successors-in-interest, following her death in December of 2012.”
The most successful woman in regional Mexican on the Billboard charts, Rivera died in an small aircraft accident in 2012 at the age of 43. She has a total of 19 entries on Top Latin Albums, 12 of which reached the top 10 and seven of which topped the chart. She has earned a total of 12 entries on the Billboard 200 and has 14 top 10 hits on the Regional Mexican Airplay tally. Most recently, Jenni’s children released the posthumous album Misión Cumplida.
In a press release issued in light of the lawsuit, the Jenni Rivera Estate said that it is “grateful for the support and understanding of the fans during this challenging period” but will refrain from making any further statements.
Read the lawsuit below:
Trigger warning: This article contains descriptions of sexual violence.
The fallout from allegations of sexual assault against comedian Russell Brand continued to pile up on Monday (Sept. 18), when YouTube said that it had suspended the monetization of Brand’s account “following serious allegations against the creator,” according to the Associated Press. The move means that Brand, 48, will no longer make money from the site — where his feed has 6.6 million subscribers — in the wake of a four women accusing the stand-up-turned-social-influencer of rape, sexual assault and abuse.
In addition to losing out on money from the ads that run alongside his YouTube videos, the AP reported that one-time employer the BBC had removed some of Brand’s material from its streaming archive as a number of organizations distanced themselves from the polarizing performer, who has denied the allegations and has not been charged with any criminal offenses to date.
Brand was a host/presenter for BBC from 2006-2008 and some of the incidents he’s accused of happened during that time period, leading the BBC to say it is “urgently looking into the issues raised” by a bombshell investigative documentary published jointly last week by The Sunday Times, The Times of London and Channel 4’s Dispatches program.
In a statement, Brand denied the allegations from the unnamed women and said that all of his relationships have been consensual. “Amidst this litany of astonishing, rather baroque attacks are some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute,” he said in the statement. “These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies and, as I have written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous.”
The investigation included claims from one woman who alleged she’d been raped by Brand in Los Angeles in 2012, while three others accused Brand of sexual assault ,including one who said the alleged assault occurred during a relationship with him when she was 16. One of the women also said he had been physically and emotionally abusive; the allegations date from 2006-2013, with the London Metropolitan Police saying that since the allegations were publicly aired they’ve received a report of another alleged sexual assault from 2003.
Brand also suggested in his statement that the reports were part of a coordinated attack designed to discredit him because of his divisive views, which he has aired on YT in such clips as “What REALLY Started the Hawaii Fires?” and “Covid Tsar Admits Lockdowns Were NEVER About Science.” Brand has been criticized for expressing skepticism about COVID-19 vaccines and interviewing contentious podcasters, including Joe Rogan and fired Fox News commenter Tucker Carlson as part of his recent shift from routines aimed at dissecting religion, social inequity and political hypocrisy toward bits seemingly aimed at a conservative American audience.
Though Brand performed in London on Saturday, the final three dates of his current “Bipolarisation” tour has been postponed according to the promoter, even as Brand has been dropped by his talent agency and publisher, Bluebird, over the past week. NBC News also reported that Brand’s literary talent agency, Tavistock Wood, had dropped him following the Times report, which claimed that one of Brand’s accusers had made allegations to the agency in 2020 and received a “very aggressive” response from Brand’s legal team.
“Russell Brand categorically and vehemently denied the allegation made in 2020, but we now believe we were horribly misled by him,” the agency said in a statement. “TW has terminated all professional ties to Brand.” NBC also reported that the U.K. women’s charity for women in recovery, Trevi Women, had cut ties with Brand after the doc aired.
“We have ended our association with Russell Brand and the Stay Free Foundation,” the charity said in a statement, referring to Brand’s charity that supports people recovering from addiction.
One Brand’s former co-stars, Kristen Bell, appeared to have issued a warning about the comedian in a 2010 interview with the Scottish Daily Record, in which she said, “He didn’t try to mess with me on the set or get in my pants. He knew I would lop his nuts off.” Bell appeared with Brand in the 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in which she breaks up with boyfriend Peter (Jason Segel) and begins a relationship with narcissistic, sex-addicted rocker Aldous Snow (Brand) during a trip to Hawaii.
In another interview with the Daily Mail that same year, Bell — who did not respond to the new reports of Brand’s alleged actions — said, “I made it really clear from the beginning that I would sock him in the balls if he tried anything. So he was intimidated. Noting that she “loved” working with Brand, Bell added that she was possibly “the only woman in the world who would shout that from the rooftops.”
Stories about sexual assault allegations can be traumatizing for survivors of sexual assault. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can reach out to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). The organization provides free, confidential support to sexual assault victims. Call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organization’s website for more information.
Travis Scott was questioned for several hours on Monday (Sept. 18) in a civil deposition he gave in connection with hundreds of lawsuits that were filed against him and others over the deaths and injuries at the 2021 Astroworld festival. Scott was questioned in Houston during a deposition that lasted around eight hours, two people with knowledge about the litigation said.
Lawyers and others connected to the civil lawsuits are under a gag order, preventing them from saying little beyond what happens during court hearings.
“Travis Scott’s deposition is typical legal procedure. What is not typical is how the media continues to focus on him despite being cleared of any wrongdoing by extensive government investigations, including by the Houston Police Department,” Ted Anastasiou, a spokesperson for Scott, said in a statement. “Travis is fully cooperating with the legal process while still remaining committed to his tour in support of his record-breaking album, Utopia, and his charitable efforts to support at-risk communities.”
Following an investigation by Houston Police, no charges were filed against Scott after a grand jury in June declined to indict him and five other people on any criminal counts related to the deadly concert. Police Chief Troy Finner declined to say what the overall conclusion of his agency’s investigation was.
In July, the police department made public its nearly 1,300-page investigative report in which festival workers highlighted problems and warned of possible deadly consequences.
According to a summary in the investigative report of a police interview conducted two days after the concert, Scott told investigators that although he did see one person near the stage getting medical attention, overall the crowd seemed to be enjoying the show and he did not see any signs of serious problems.
This was the first time Scott was questioned by attorneys for those who have filed lawsuits since a crowd surge at his Nov. 5, 2021, concert in Houston killed 10 festivalgoers. Those killed, who ranged in age from 9 to 27, died from compression asphyxia, which an expert likened to being crushed by a car.
Similar crushes have happened all over the world, from a soccer stadium in England to the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia to Halloween festivities in the South Korean capital. Most people who who die in crowd surges suffocate.
Scott’s deposition comes as a judge earlier this year scheduled the first trial from the lawsuits for May 6, 2024. That first trial would take place nearly 2.5 years since the deadly concert. Documents filed in court in April listed more than 1,500 active cases, many of which were filed against Scott and Live Nation, the concert promoter.
Of these, 992 were cases with physical injuries and 313 were cases of “emotional distress, pain, suffering and mental anguish.” Orthopedic surgeries have been completed in 17 of these cases, with other surgeries recommended in another 21.
Some of the lawsuits have since been settled, including those filed by the families of three of the people killed during the concert.
Scott’s deposition on Monday took place on the same day that hip-hop artist Drake, who performed several songs with Scott during the Astroworld concert, was performing in Houston. Drake was also sued in connection with the deadly concert.
Tory Lanez will remain in prison pending appeal after a Los Angeles court judge denied his motion for bond on Thursday (Sept. 14). The ruling, reported by Meghann Cuniff who was in person at the hearing, was handed down by Judge David Herriford, who last month sentenced Lanez to 10 years in prison for shooting […]
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.”
The head of a powerful Japanese talent agency resigned Thursday (Sept. 7) and made an apology punctuated by repeated, lengthy bows, nine days after an internal investigation concluded that its founder had sexually abused hundreds of young performers over decades.
Julie Keiko Fujishima announced she was stepping down as president of Johnny & Associates, the agency founded by her late uncle Johnny Kitagawa, and promised to contribute to a compensation fund from her own fortune.
“This is what my uncle committed, and as a niece, I want to take responsibility,” Fujishima said solemnly. Fujishima said the alleged sex abuse had really happened and that she would stay on the company’s board to see through a victim compensation program.
A group of men who accused Kitagawa of raping them as children said they were pleased the company apologized, but some had reservations.
“The wounds in my heart will not heal,” Yukihiro Oshima told reporters. “But I feel a little better.”
Fujishima remains the sole owner of Johnny’s, and her replacement faces his own allegations of mistreating young performers.
Rumors that Kitagawa had abused children followed his career for decades, but his power allowed him to silence almost all allegations until his death in 2019. The company agreed to investigate earlier this year, after the BBC aired a documentary that spoke with several accusers and others began to come forward by name.
The three-month probe concluded that Johnny Kitagawa sexually assaulted and abused boys as far back as the 1950s and targeted at least several hundred people.
The company named a 56-year-old performer as its new leader. Noriyuki Higashiyama said he was retiring as an actor and singer to take the job, a role that will include overseeing compensation for men who were assaulted as children.
“A horrendous crime has been committed,” Higashiyama told reporters at a Tokyo hotel, bowing deeply with Fujishima.
“It will take time to win back trust, and I am putting my life on the line for this effort.”
Higashiyama immediately fielded questions about allegations that he had engaged in bullying or sexually abusing other Johnny’s boys.
“I don’t remember clearly; maybe it happened, maybe it didn’t,” he said.
He acknowledged he tended to be strict with younger performers, and that he may have done things as a teen or in his 20s that he would not do now. A new company structure, which will include an outside compliance officer, will be announced next month, Fujishima said.
At one point, she choked down tears, stressing the achievements of the company’s singers and dancers. “I only feel deep gratitude to all the fans,” she said. Kitagawa had been so powerful that she, and many others, had kept silent, she added.
The men who have come forward say Kitagawa raped, fondled and abused them while they were working for his company as dancers and singers.
Many of the victims were members of a backup group called Johnny’s Jr., who danced and sang behind bigger stars. One man who came forward recently said he was routinely molested when Kitagawa had yet to found his company. He was just 8 years old.
Higashiyama denied he was a victim. He said Kitagawa had been like a father to him, while denouncing his acts as “the most pathetic in the history of humankind.” When he found out what Kitagawa had done, he felt as though he had lost everything, Higashiyama recalled.
“Whether I am qualified to take on this job, you be the judge,” he said.
Separately, Guinness World Records said it had stripped Kitagawa of all the records he had held, such as No. 1 hits, according to its policy toward “criminals.”
Sam Smith and Normani have prevailed in a copyright lawsuit against their 2019 hit “Dancing With a Stranger” a California judge agreed to dismiss the case Wednesday (Sept. 6). Released in 2019 off Smith’s third studio album Love Goes, “Dancing with a Stranger” is one of their top-charting hits, peaking at No. 7 on the […]