January 22, 2008, New York, New York—Litigation involving Chrisette Michele, nominated for a Grammy in the upcoming awards, expanded as Four Kings CEO, Douglas "Biggs" Ellison, filed suit in Manhattan Supreme Court against Island Def Jam Music Group (a division of UMG), Shalik Berry (A&R), Lynette Payne, Chrisette’s mother (a former school teacher) and Lemuel Payne, Chrisette’s father (a deacon at his church in Long Island). Attorneys for Four Kings Productions, Inc. allege in their complaint on behalf of Mr. Ellison and his production company that all of the foregoing defendants in the current case conspired to commit, and in fact did commit, numerous business torts and engaged in unlawful business practices with the intent of getting the artist out of her exclusive contracts with Four Kings, all of which has damaged Mr. Ellison and his production company, Four Kings, immeasurably.
The above action is the second of two related lawsuits in which this controversy is currently being litigated. The artist first sued Mr. Ellison and Four Kings (a move that Mr. Ellison describes as "pre-emptive"), in which she alleged, among other things, "embezzlement" and "harassment"; however, each of those claims were quietly withdrawn at the request of Ms. Michelle—but not before the salacious charges were repeated over and over in the press. The artist in fact only dropped the foregoing charges after Four Kings countersued in response, suing the artist for breach of the exclusive management agreement that Ms. Michelle signed with Four Kings and for breach by the artist of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and related claims.
The second lawsuit seeks punitive damages of $20 million against the defendants, with Four Kings alleging that business decisions made by Def Jam, Berry and the Paynes, infringed upon Four Kings’ contractual rights to receive proceeds from the income of the artist, including from the sale of her album, "I AM", other recordings, touring and acting. Four Kings contends that Def Jam’s actions were conducted in bad faith and have harmed the interests of the production company. Lynette Payne is being sued for defamation, conversion, unjust enrichment, and tortious interference with contracts between the production company and her daughter and for interference with the future business relationship between the artist and Four Kings as provided for in the contracts signed by Mr. Ellison and Ms. Michelle.
Four Kings Productions, Inc. spent countless hours developing, recording, and financing Chrisette Michele’s career. Four Kings, as Chrisette Michele’s exclusive manager and exclusive recording company, entered into a recording agreement with Def Jam in September of 2005 for the benefit of the artist, agreeing to provide her services to Def Jam. Four Kings and Chrisette completed multiple songs and gave them to Def Jam for inclusion on her debut album "I Am." As soon as the artist’s mother saw that Chrisette was receiving money, all a direct result of the efforts of the production company under its contracts with the artist, Mr. Ellison’s complaint alleges, Lynette Payne quit her job as a teacher and, in willful disregard of the artist’s contractual obligations to Four Kings, usurped management functions regarding her daughter’s newly found success, in an effort to keep the money in the family. The lawsuit alleges that Chrisette’s mother, upon quitting her job, deliberately set about inserting herself into the role that Four Kings should be performing in the production process according to the artist’s agreements with the production company. The Four Kings’ complaint goes on to allege that Mrs. Lynette Payne sought to sever lines of communication between the talented artist and Mr. Ellison, met with Mr. Berry at Def Jam’s office in New York to conspire to get Ms. Michelle out of her contracts with Four Kings, lawfully or otherwise. The complaint also says that the artist’s father, Mr. Payne knew about his wife’s attempts to take over management of their daughter’s suddenly burgeoning career, and hoped that hid role in trying to take over management of the artist could be kept in the background.
Ms. Michele is nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance for her hit song, "If I Had My Way". Chrisette Michelle is also featured on three tracks on the Grammy-nominated album "Hip Hop Is Dead" by Def Jam recording artist Nas — "Can’t Forget About", "Hope" and "You Still Dreaming" (along with Kanye West). Chrisette Michele is also featured on the Jay-Z hit "Lost One" and on the track "Slow Down" on Ghostface Killah’s CD "The Big Doe Rehab".
Douglas Ellison states that he hopes the matters being litigated do not sidetrack Ms. Michele from the long and successful career that Mr. Ellison predicts is certain to be ahead for the incredibly talented Ms. Michelle. Mr. Ellison said that he has been "ecstatic" for Chrisette since hearing about the Grammy nomination for her for her singing on the track "If I Had My Way". Doug Ellison added that, as between himself and the artist, Chrisette Michelle and he have had a longstanding relationship based mutual respect for each other’s craft.
ABOUT FOUR KINGS PRODUCTIONS, INC.
Four Kings Productions is a Queens, NY, based full-service entertainment entity providing services in production, marketing, advertising, financial and strategic planning, event coordinating, website development and graphic design as well as artist management and development. They are currently working with Unsigned Hype new talent, Young Jinsu, a 14-yead-old rambunctiously vibrant rap artist. Four Kings Productions is also planning the re-launch of the Unsigned Hype Tour, stepping it up a notch to a concert event and seeking new artists. Four Kings owns and operates a million dollar recording studio. The company seeks to identify, represent, and provide profitable exposure for raw and real talent.
Contact:
Marisa King-Redwood
The Buzz International Group
(212) 360-0399 (Phone)
mking@buzzig.com (Email)
