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â Megan Thee Stallion agreed in October to settle a long-running legal battle against her former record label record label, 1501 Certified Entertainment. The deal came after more than three years of bitter litigation stemming from her accusation that 1501 duped the young artist into signing an unfair record deal in 2018 that was well below industry standards. That cleared the way for her to sign a distribution deal with Warner Music in December.Â
â Kesha and Dr. Luke reached a settlement in June to end a decade-long lawsuit accusing the pop star of defaming him in 2014 when she accused him of raping her in 2005. The agreement came on the eve of trial â and just a week after a New York court issued a key ruling that would have made it harder for Dr. Luke to win the case. Â
â DJ Envy, the host of the popular Breakfast Club hip-hop radio show, was sued over the summer by dozens of investors who claimed he was complicit in an alleged multi-million-dollar real estate investment scam in New Jersey perpetrated by celebrity real estate guru Cesar Pina. Envy denied the allegations and said he too was a victim of the fraud. But when federal prosecutors indicted Pina in October for running a âPonzi-like investment fraud scheme,â they specifically noted that Pina had âpartnered with a celebrity disc jockey and radio personalityâ to boost his reputation.Â
â New state laws restricting drag performances were struck down as unconstitutional, first in Tennessee, then in Florida, and finally in Texas, each time on the grounds that they likely violate freedom of speech. Such statutes are nominally aimed at protecting children from obscenity, but critics say existing laws already do that and that the new legislation is instead a thinly veiled attack on the LGBTQ community. The new laws have been closely watched by the music industry over concerns that aspects of concerts could run afoul of broad new restrictions.Â
â Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison in August for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot during an argument, capping off three years of legal drama over the violent 2020 incident. The sentence came after Lanez was convicted on three felony counts at trial, a verdict that the singer is currently appealing.Â
â The two key remaining members of Journey â lead guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain â battled in court over back-and-forth accusations related to band finances and a corporate American Express card. The lawsuit was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Journeyâs internal dysfunction and legal issues, as detailed by Billboardâs Steve Knopper.Â
â A private feud between longtime members of the legendary rock band MĂśtley CrĂźe burst into public view in April when co-founder Mick Mars filed a lawsuit accusing his former âbrothersâ of tossing him to the curb after he said he could no longer tour due to a âtragicâ disability called ankylosing spondylitis. The rest of CrĂźe, on the other hand, says they offered Mars âgenerous compensationâ as a courtesy, but that he instead chose to file an âugly public lawsuit.â
Lawyers for the Michael Jackson estate quietly threatened to sue a pop culture collectibles website this week over plans to auction off unreleased Jackson studio recordings that the estate claimed were âunquestionably stolen,â resulting in the items being withdrawn from sale.
Last month, Gotta Have Rock and Roll said it planned to auction more than two dozen masters tapes purportedly recorded by Jackson during 1994 sessions at The Hit Factory, a famed New York City studio. The auction house called the tapes âincredibly rare unreleased recordingsâ and said each would eventually sell for as much as $4000.
But after correspondence from attorneys for the Jackson estate that was obtained by Billboard, including an email from well-known litigator Alex Spiro earlier this week that threatened to seek an immediate court restraining order, the tapes are no longer listed on the auction site.
GHRR did not return a request for comment on the status of the tapes. A rep for the Jackson estate declined to comment.
The incident highlights the sometimes blurry line between legitimate rock and roll collectibles and goods that have been stolen from artists. Last year, three men were indicted in New York for attempting to auction Don Henleyâs handwritten notes and lyrics for the Eagles album Hotel California; they claim they lawfully obtained the materials from a journalist who was simply given them.
The Jackson tapes, posted for sale as part of GHRRâs âRock & Roll Pop Culture Winter Auction 2023,â cover 25 recordings that purportedly include âOh Love,â âSexy Love,â âDoing What My Heart,â âNew Jellyâ and many others. The site estimated that each tape, which it said was âan artifact ONLY with no copyrightâ with reproduction âSTRICTLY prohibited,â would sell for between $2,000 and $4,000.
But in a letter dated Nov. 29, Jackson estate attorney Jonathan Steinsapir warned that the tapes had been stolen. He demanded that Gotta Have Rock and Roll not only âcease and desist from any and all efforts to further auction these tape,â but also immediately return them.
âNeither Michael Jackson nor his record company, Sony Music Entertainment, ever sold or gave away master tapes from his recording sessions at The Hit Factory (or anywhere else),â Steinsapir wrote in the letter, obtained by Billboard. âThese tapes were unquestionably stolen or otherwise taken without authorization. Accordingly, they are the property of the Jackson Estate.â
The letter was apparently unsuccessful.
On Tuesday, the estate contacted the Gotta Have Rock and Roll again, this time represented by Alex Spiro, a nationally prominent attorney who has previously represented Jay-Z, Megan Thee Stallion and Elon Musk in court. In an email to the auction houseâs lawyer, Spiro noted that Gotta Have Rock and Roll had informed Steinsapir that it âwill not comply with these demands.â
âWe write to notify you that we intend to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction tomorrow (December 13) in New York Supreme Court,â Spiro wrote. âPlease feel free to contact me should you have any questions.â
Less than two hours later on Tuesday, the companyâs attorney responded to Spiro with an email: âThere is no contact information on your email. What is the best phone number to reach you?â
By Wednesday, the tapes had been removed from Gotta Have Rock and Rollâs site. The auction site still lists numerous Jackson items as part of the sale, including a âMichael Jackson Circa 1984 Owned & Worn Red Military Style Jacketâ that they estimate will sell for more than $10,000. But the tapes, and the specific lot numbers they occupied, are no longer visible.
The auction house did not respond to specific questions from Billboard, including how the auction house came into possession of the tapes, and whether they had been returned to the estate.
Itâs not the first time the Jackson estate has sued over materials allegedly stolen from the late star. In 2022, the estate sued JeffrĂŠ Phillips, who was once engaged to Michaelâs sister La Toya Jackson, over allegations that he stole various materials from the singerâs Carolwood estate in the wake of his death. In October, the estate said that case had been âamicably resolvedâ after Phillips âvoluntarily returned Michael Jacksonâs property to the Estate.â
A California appeals court ruled Wednesday (Dec. 13) that Marilyn Mansonâs former assistant can sue him for sexual assault, overturning an earlier decision that said she waited too long to bring her case.
In a 24-page opinion, Californiaâs Second Appellate District revived a lawsuit filed by Ashley Walters that claims Manson subjected her to brutal treatment, including sexual harassment and discrimination, during the year that she worked for him from 2010 to 2011.
A lower court had ruled last year that Waltersâ lawsuit, filed in 2021, was barred by the statute of limitations, which requires such cases to be filed within two years. But on Wednesday, the appeals court said Waltersâ case was fair game under the so-called delayed discovery rule, as she claims the trauma of the incidents caused her to suppress the memories until 2020.
âUntil she received diagnosis and treatment, Walters [says she] was unable to remember the repressed events, and once she did recall them, she was unable to immediately identify these events as abuse,â the court wrote. Â âThese allegations of suppressed memories and psychological blocking are sufficient to withstand [dismissal].â
A representative for Manson declined to comment on the ruling. An attorney for Walters did not immediately return a request for comment.
Walters was one of several women who accused Manson of sexual abuse in 2021. His former fiancĂŠ Evan Rachel Wood accused him of grooming and sexual abuse on Twitter in February 2021, and then others, including Game of Thrones actress EsmĂŠ Bianco and model Ashley Morgan Smithine, filed lawsuits against him.
Manson has denied all of the accusations, and several of the cases have been dismissed or settled. Manson later sued Wood for defamation, claiming she had âsecretly recruited, coordinated, and pressuredâ other women to make such allegations, though that case was largely dismissed earlier this year.
In her lawsuit, Walters claimed that Manson subjected her to âsexual exploitation, manipulation and psychological abuseâ while she worked for him as a personal assistant. The alleged abuse included whipping her and throwing her against a wall in a âa drug-induced rageâ; forcing her to stay awake for 48 hours by feeding her cocaine; and having âofferedâ her sexually to friends and associates.
In June 2022, the case was dismissed for being filed past the statute of limitations. Walters argued then that she had suppressed the memories of Mansonâs abuse until other women began coming forward, but the judge said during a hearing that he had not seen âsufficient factsâ to invoke the delayed-discovery rule.
In Wednesdayâs ruling overturning that decision, the appeals court did not say that Waltersâ accusations against Manson were true. Instead, it merely said that her allegations were enough for the case to survive being dismissed at the outset. The court recounted various claims that, if proven true, would mean that Walters had truly not discovered the abuse until 2020.
âThe complaint described the support group Walters joined in October 2020 and recounted the stories shared by the other abused women that âbegan to unlock new memories [Walters] repressed long ago as a result of her psychological trauma by being manipulated and threatened by Warner during and after her employment,ââ the court wrote. âThe complaint also described how Walters began therapy in November 2020 and was diagnosed the following month with complex posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder.â
The ruling sends the case back to the trial court, where the parties will engage in more litigation, conduct discovery and move toward an eventual trial.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and need support and/or resources, reach out to RAINN and the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE) for free, confidential help 24/7.
Luke Combs apologized Wednesday after he accidentally sued one of his fans in federal court and won a $250,000 judgment against her, saying she had been caught up in a lawsuit aimed at âillegal businessesâ and that she was ânever supposed to be involved.â
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The apology came a day after news broke that lawyers representing the country star had sued a woman named Nicol Harness for selling Combs-themed mugs on Amazon. Harness, who suffers from congestive heart failure, sold only 18 tumblers for a total of $380 but was ordered to pay a whopping $250,000 in damages for infringing Combsâ intellectual property â all before she ever realized she had been sued.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Combs said he had just learned about the situation and that it âmakes me absolutely sick to my stomach.â He said he had already contacted Harness directly and apologized for the incident.
âI spent the last two hours trying to make this right and figure out whatâs going on, because I was completely and utterly unaware of this,â Combs said in the video. âWe do have a company that goes after folks only, supposedly large corporations operating internationally that make millions and millions of dollars making counterfeit tee shirts, things of that nature, running illegal businesses. Apparently, this woman, Nicol, has somehow gotten wrapped into that.â
The lawsuit against Harness, filed in June in Illinois federal court, accused more than 200 online entities of selling unauthorized Combs merchandise on the internet. It included screenshots of unauthorized t-shirts sold on Amazon that directly copied real apparel the country star sold on his own site.
âThis action has been filed ⌠to combat online counterfeiters who trade upon the reputation and goodwill of the American artist Luke Combs,â his lawyers wrote. âThe aggregated effect of the mass counterfeiting that is taking place has overwhelmed the plaintiff and his ability to police his rights against the hundreds of anonymous defendants which are selling illegal counterfeits at prices.â
The case highlights a common legal tactic used by big brands like Nike and Ray-Ban to fight fake products on the internet. Filed against huge lists of URLs, such actions enable brands to shut down pirate sellers en masse, win court orders to freeze their assets, and continue to kill new listings if they pop up. They usually result in large âdefault judgmentsâ against many defendants who never even saw the lawsuit, ordering them to pay large sums in damages.
Though theyâre more often employed by retail brands, artists and bands have increasingly turned to such lawsuits to combat counterfeit merch. Nirvana sued nearly 200 sites for selling fake gear in early 2022; a few months later, the late rapper XXXTentacionâs company filed a similar case; in January, Harry Styles filed one.
Such lawsuits are effective at combating a difficult problem, but theyâre also increasingly controversial. In a study released last month, professor Eric Goldman of Santa Clara Universityâs School of Law called the mass-defendant counterfeiting cases âabusive,â saying they allow rightsholders to bypass âbasic procedural safeguardsâ like making sure each defendant is properly served with notice of the lawsuit.
Harness says thatâs what happened to her. As reported by Tampaâs local NBC outlet WFLA, she says she had no idea she had been sued until she returned from a hospital visit and saw her Amazon account had been frozen. Harness says she later found an email from Combsâ lawyers, sent to an address she rarely uses and stuck in her spam folder, notifying her of the lawsuit. By the time she was fully up to speed, she says the case had been closed and a judge had granted a default judgment ordering her to pay Combs $250,000.
Though the lawsuit was filed directly in his name, Combsâ Instagram post on Wednesday suggests that it was handled entirely by outside attorneys or other entities empowered to enforce his rights. The attorney who filed the case, Keith A. Vogt, did not immediately return a request for comment.
Combsâ manager Chris Kappy declined to comment on how the case came to be filed, but confirmed that Combs had absolved Harness of any legal debt. And in his Instagram post on Wednesday, Combs said he was committed to making things right.
Since a total of $5,500 was still frozen in her Amazon account, he said he was âgoing to double that, send her $11,000 today, just so she doesnât have anything to worry about.â Combs also said that he was going to make his own tumblers to sell in his official online merchandise store and that money from sales of those tumblers will also go to Harness to help with her medical bills.
âThis is not something I would ever do,â Combs said. âThis is not the kind of person I am, greedy in any way, shape or form. Money is the last thing on my mind, I promise you guys that. I invited Nicol and her family out to a show this year so I can give her a hug and say sorry in person.â
A Taylor Swift fan who filed a class action against Ticketmaster parent Live Nation in the wake of last yearâs disastrous presale of tickets to the Eras Tour has agreed to drop her case against the concert giant, months after attorneys on the case said they were engaged in settlement talks.
Swift fan Michelle Sterioff filed her case in December 2022 just weeks after the botched Eras rollout, which saw widespread service delays and website crashes as millions of fans tried â and many failed â to buy tickets. At the time, her lawyers blasted Live Nation as a âmonopolyâ that had âknowingly misled millions of fans.â
But a year later, Sterioff voluntarily asked a federal judge on Tuesday to dismiss her case. Itâs unclear if a settlement was reached, but the two sides reported in August that they were engaged in âongoing settlement discussions.â Neither side immediately returned requests for comment.
Sterioffâs proposed class action was just one piece of the legal fallout for Live Nation following the error-plagued pre-sale for Eras, which went on the earn hundreds of millions of dollars and dominate headlines as 2023âs biggest concert tour.
After the Nov. 22, 2022 incident, Live Nation quickly apologized to fans and pinned the blame on a âstaggering number of bot attacksâ and âunprecedented traffic.â But lawmakers in Washington and state attorneys general around the country quickly called for investigations. That included Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the chair of the Senate subcommittee for antitrust issues, who suggest that regulators consider âbreaking up the companyâ â a reference to Live Nationâs 2010 merger with Ticketmaster.
Days after the incident, the New York Times reported that DOJ had already been investigating Live Nation for months over potential antitrust violations, reaching out to venues across the country to ask about the companyâs conduct. Last month, Reuters reported that the probe was ongoing, with federal investigators focusing on whether Live Nation imposed anticompetitive agreements on venues. A Senate subcommittee investigation is also underway, sending out subpoenas last month demanding info about the companyâs âfailure to combat artificially inflated demand fueled by bots in multiple, high-profile incidents.â
Taylor Swift performs onstage for night three of Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Nissan Stadium on May 07, 2023 in Nashville.
John Shearer/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Sterioffâs case was one of two major class actions filed against Live Nation over the Eras ticket rollout. In her complaint, she accused the company of violating consumer protection and antitrust laws, calling Ticketmaster a âmonopoly that is only interested in taking every dollar it can from a captive public.â
âBecause Ticketmaster has exclusive agreements with virtually all venues capable of accommodating large concerts, Taylor Swift and other popular musicians have no choice but to sell their tickets through Ticketmaster, and their fans have no choice but to purchase tickets through Ticketmasterâs primary ticketing platform,â her lawyers wrote.
Sterioffâs lawsuit claimed that Live Nation has exploited that dominance to charge âever more supracompetitive ticketing fees for both primary and secondary ticketing services,â including for âvirtually all venues hosting âThe Erasâ Tour.â
But the lawsuit has largely been paused for months. In August, both sides agreed that it would be better to wait to litigate the case after a federal appeals court rules on a separate antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, which will decide whether the company can force ticketbuyers to resolve such legal claims in private arbitration rather than open court.
The other class action over the Eras debacle, filed by an outspoken fan named Julie Barfuss and more than two dozen other spurned Swifities, remains pending in California federal court. In her complaint, Barfuss went even further than Sterioff, claiming Live Nation had tacitly allowed the kind of mass-scalping that caused so many problems during the pre-sale.
âTicketmaster has stated that it has taken steps to address this issue, but in reality, has taken steps to make additional profit from the scalped tickets,â Barfussâ lawyer wrote. âInstead of competition, Ticketmaster has conspired with stadiums to force fans to buy more expensive tickets that Ticketmaster gets additional fees from every time the tickets are resold.â
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: Lawyers for Michael Jacksonâs estate send a legal threat letter over the recent release of a rare Jackson 5 recording; Sean âDiddyâ Combs and a former Recording Academy boss are both hit with sexual assault lawsuits as musicâs #MeToo wave continues; Google loses an epic antitrust battle over smartphone apps; and much more.
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THE BIG STORY: MJâs Estate Threatens Lawsuit Over Rare Recording
âWe write to put you on notice regarding several matters that expose you to liability to the Jackson Estate.â
Thatâs never a great thing to read, but itâs particularly problematic if youâve just announced to the world that youâre about to digitally release a rare Jackson 5 song that holds the distinction as âMichael Jacksonâs first ever studio recording.â
A day after a Swedish company called anotherblock did precisely that, attorneys for Michaelâs estate sent a letter warning that they werenât happy about the plan. They said the release âviolatesâ the estateâs trademark and likeness rights, and that the company was potentially âmisleading the publicâ by claiming the song was the first-ever Jackson recording.
âWe have serious doubts that Michael would have ever wanted these recordings released and commercialized,â the estateâs attorneys wrote. âWhat you are doing is the opposite of honoring Michael Jackson.â
Go read the entire story here, including access to the full letter sent by the estate.
Other top stories this weekâŚ
DIDDY SUED YET AGAIN â Another woman â the fourth in three weeks â filed a lawsuit against Sean âDiddyâ Combs over allegations of sexual assault. The unnamed Jane Doe accuser claims she was âsex traffickedâ and âgang rapedâ by Combs, former Bad Boy Records president Harve Pierre and another man in 2003 when she was 17 years old. Combs, who had mostly stayed quiet since allegations started flying, responded that âENOUGH IS ENOUGHâ and that he âdid not do any of the awful things being alleged.â
MORE MUSIC #METOO CLAIMS â Former Recording Academy CEO Mike Greene and the academy itself were hit with a lawsuit alleging Greene sexually assaulted an Academy employee named Terri McIntyre in the 1990s. The woman claims that during her tenure at the Academy from 1994 to 1996, she was âforced to endure pervasive, incessant and routine sexual harassment and/or sexual assaultâ from Greene and that the Academy enabled it by failing to take action.
GOOGLE LOSES MONOPOLY CASE â A jury found that Google violated federal antitrust laws by maintaining an illegal monopoly over the Android app market, siding with Epic Games, the maker of the hit video game Fortnite. The case had been closely watched by digital music services like Spotify because Epicâs lawsuit challenges the fees that Google and Apple require apps to pay for in-app transactions and subscriptions.
LIL DURK DOUBLE DIP? â The Chicago rapper was sued by a fintech firm called Exceed Talent Capital, which claims that Durk agreed to grant the company the recording royalties from his song âBedtimeâ even though he had already signed an exclusive deal with Sonyâs Alamo Records â an alleged double-dip that Exceed called a âmanifest fraud.â
TYGAâS INFRINGING SNEAKERS â A federal appeals court sided with Vans and ruled that Tygaâs âWavy Babyâ sneakers â a parody of the companyâs classic Old Skool â likely violate the shoe companyâs trademarks. The company that partnered with the rapper to create the sneaker (MSCHF) argued that it had been designed to criticize âsneakerheadâ consumerist culture and was thus protected by the First Amendment. But the court said that the shoe was entitled to âno special First Amendment protectionsâ and that the sneaker was likely to confuse consumers into thinking it was an authentic Vans partnership.
TWITTER SUED OVER COPYRIGHTS â SUISA, the music royalties collecting society in Switzerland, sued X Corp. (formerly Twitter) in German court over allegations that the social media site has allowed infringing content to be posted to the platform. The lawsuit mirrors a similar case filed against Twitter in U.S. court in June by dozens of music publishers who are seeking as much as $255 million in damages.
TICKETING REFORM ADVANCES â Legislation that aims to make buying concert tickets an easier, more straightforward process was voted forward by a U.S. House of Representatives committee, clearing the way for a full House vote. Among other features, the proposed STOP Act would require sellers to post final âall-inâ prices that include fees, as well as ensure buyers can get refunds after cancellations. Days after the vote, a similar bill, The Fans First Act, was introduced in the Senate by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers.
CRIP MAC FACES GUN CHARGE â YouTuber and rapper Trevor Hurd, who goes by the name Crip Mac, was arrested in Los Angeles on federal gun charges. The arrest by U.S. Marshals came moments after a California judge agreed to drop state gun charges against Mac over the same alleged wrongdoing â a not-uncommon step after state prosecutors coordinate with the U.S. Attorneys Office.
Quando Rondo was arrested on federal drug charges on Friday night (Dec. 8) in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia. The 24-year-old rapper, whose real name is Tyquian Terrel Bowman, was taken into custody by the FBI after being pulled over in a vehicle, according to ABCâs Savannah affiliate WJCL. The Savannah police served as the […]
The Michael Jackson estate isnât happy about a recently-announced digital sale of an early Jackson 5 recording, warning that it âviolates the Jackson Estateâs rightsâ and could lead to a lawsuit.
A Swedish company called anotherblock announced Wednesday (Dec. 6) that it would digitally release a 1967 version of the song âBig Boy,â claiming it represented the first time Jacksonâs voice had been put on tape. But in a letter sent Thursday, the estateâs attorney, Jonathan Steinsapir, pointedly advised the company about several problems that might âexpose you to liability to the Jackson Estate.â
Among other things, the letter (which was obtained by Billboard) warned that the estate owns all rights to Jacksonâs name, image and likeness rights, along with his trademarks. âGiven this,â Steinsapir wrote, âany use of Michaelâs name, image, and likeness in marketing, advertising or in the product itself violates the Jackson Estateâs rights.â
At issue in the budding dispute is a 1967 version of the Jackson 5 song âBig Boy,â a subsequent version of which was commercially released in 1968. The earlier version is called the âOne-derful Versionâ because it was recorded at Chicagoâs One-derful Studios. According to Rolling Stone, that version of the song first surfaced in 2009 and was released in 2014 on vinyl.
On Wednesday, anotherblock said it would release the track for the first time in digital format, doing so in partnership with Jacksonâs mother, Katherine Jackson, and with a company called Recordpool, which purportedly controls the intellectual property rights to the recording. The sale, which included $25 and $100 packages with various other goodies, is meant to continue through the weekend via the anotherblock site.
But in its letter on Thursday, the estate warned that whatever deals anotherblock had struck to facilitate the âBig Boyâ sale could be invalid if they covered rights that were controlled solely by Michaelâs estate, like his trademark rights. And the estateâs lawyers strongly questioned the claim that the âOne-derful Versionâ was Jacksonâs first studio recording.
âWe have no information to confirm that the unreleased recordings you are making available are in fact the first time Michael Jacksonâs âvoice was put on tapeâ or even that it was the first time he recorded in a studio at all,â the estateâs attorney wrote. âIndeed, we have good reason to believe that this is not the first time Michael Jackson ever recorded in a studio. Because of that, you are likely misleading the public.â
A 2009 article by the Chicago Reader called the âOne-derfulâ track âthe earliest known studio recording of Michael Jackson and his brothers.â A 2014 article from Rolling Stone likewise called the recording the âearliest commercially available Jackson 5Â recording.â
In Thursdayâs letter, the estate also sharply criticized the decision to publish previously unreleased songs, telling anotherblock that Jackson was âwas the consummate perfectionistâ and that he had been âvery careful about what recordings he released to the public.â
âBecause of this, we have serious doubts that Michael would have ever wanted these recordings released and commercialized,â the estateâs attorneys wrote. âAs the persons designated by Michael to protect his legacy after his untimely passing, the Estateâs Co-Executors are duty-bound to point this out. What you are doing is the opposite of honoring Michael Jackson.â
As if the message wasnât clear enough, at the bottom of the letter the estate warned that it reserved âall of the Jackson Estateâs rights and remedies,â including the right to seek monetary damages and an injunction blocking further sales.
A spokeswoman for anotherblock declined to comment.
Youtuber and rapper Trevor Hurd, who goes by the name Crip Mac, was arrested in LA County court Tuesday (Dec. 5) on federal gun charges and is currently being held on pretrial detention, according to an indictment and other court records obtained by Billboard.
The 30-year-oldâs arrest came moments after an LA County judge agreed to drop gun charges against the South Los Angeles resident and expectant father for a Sept. 3 arrest for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Seconds after learning the state charges were dropped, Hurd was arrested by waiting U.S. Marshals who informed him that his case had been transferred to the US Attorneyâs office where he would face the gun charges in federal court.
Shortly before Tuesdayâs arrest, a two-month-old indictment against Hurd was unsealed. It showed that he was charged with being a felon in possession of an unregistered weapon and ten rounds of ammo.
âDefendant HURD possessed such ammunition knowing that he had previously been convicted of at least one of the following felony crimes,â the indictment reads, laying out five arrests since 2014. Hurd was also arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm in LA County on July 27, 2022, and Oct. 12, 2021. On Nov. 8, 2017, Hurd was arrested for attempted second-degree armed robbery; on Aug. 12, 2015, he was arrested for grand theft; and on Oct. 20, 2014, he was arrested for transportation of a controlled substance.
California defense attorney Curtis Briggs, who is not involved with the Crip Mac case, tells Billboard itâs not uncommon for federal officials to take over state criminal cases in coordination with local authorities.
âSometimes, local authorities become frustrated by lenient sentencing for people who are prolific [offenders] so they request the feds review for prosecution. This puts more prison time in the discussion,â Briggs explains.
The feds also could be working on a larger case, like a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case involving multiple defendants and a superseding indictment, Briggs explained.
âThe worst case is he gets folded into a larger gang conspiracy and RICO case involving murders. In that case, itâs likely life in prison,â Briggs adds. If heâs just facing the gun charges, âitâs possible, depending on the specific facts of his case, he could do 10 years. It depends on various individual factorsâ and details of the case, Briggs says.
Hurd is currently being held in pretrial custody. His next hearing is scheduled for Monday (Dec. 11).
Crip Mac
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Veteran entertainment attorney Kendall A. Minter, whose diverse range of past and present clients included songwriter-producers Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox and DâMile, MC Lyte, Kirk Franklin, Lena Horne and the Backstreet Boys, has died. He passed away suddenly from medical complications on Dec. 6 in Atlanta. He was 71.
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Minter, a longtime social advocate who also represented politicians, religious leaders, churches, authors and sports figures, was also the general counsel and an officer of the Living Legends Foundation. In 2015 Minter was presented with the 32-year-old organizationâs Chairmanâs Award.
âKendall and I have been friends and colleagues for more than 30 years,â said Living Legends chairman David C. Linton in a statement released by the organization. âKendall is one of the reasons why the Living Legends Foundation has maintained and survived as one of the leading and one of the few Black music organizations. Weâre still standing because of his guidance. He helped us sustain the organization through some turbulent times, especially during the transition from the old model of the recording industry to todayâs model, providing us with steady and sound legal counsel. Weâre forever grateful for his service and leadership, not only to the Living Legends Foundation, but to the other Black organizations that he helped build during the past 40 years as well as his commitment to a long list of Black music and entertainment executives that he mentored and counseled.â
Before his death, Minter was Of Counsel with the entertainment & sports practice group at Greenspoon Marder LLP in Stone Mountain, Georgia. At Greenspoon Marder, he represented clientele in the areas of entertainment, corporate, intellectual property, sports and new media matters.
He also led and maintained his 43-year law practice, now known as Minter & Associates, based in Atlanta. Over the course of that period, his varied clientele past and present also included Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Miriam Makeba, Peter Tosh, Musiq Soulchild, Goodie Mob, Montell Jordan, Ashanti, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Teddy Riley, Heavy D & The Boyz, radio pioneer Frankie Crocker, boxer Evander Holyfield, the Government of Jamaica and The Central Park Five, now known as The Exonerated Five, among others.
Minter also co-founded and served as the first executive director of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA) and was the former chairman of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. He served as a board member as well for Sound Exchange, Georgia Music Partners and the DeKalb Entertainment Commission.
Born May 24, 1952 and raised in the Flushing section of Queens, NY, Minter earned his B.A. in political science from Cornell University in 1974 and his law degree from Cornell Law School in 1976. His first job out of law school was as association general counsel and corporate representative for broadcasting at Fairchild Industries. Over the course of his law career, Minter practiced with firms in Georgia, New York and the District of Columbia. He launched his first solo practice, the Law Firm of Kendall A. Minter, in 1980 and later opened affiliated offices in Los Angeles and London.
Minterâs other accomplishments include writing the book Understanding and Negotiating 3600 Ancillary Rights Deals: An Artistâs Guide to Negotiating 3600 Record Deals. He served as well as an adjunct professor at Georgia State University in the School of Music and the College of Law, where he taught copyright and music publishing.
Details about funeral services for Minter will be announced shortly.