Liberty DeVitto, longtime drummer for Billy Joel, has filed a lawsuit against the Piano Man for unpaid royalties. He claims that Joel hasn’t paid him royalties for the last 10 years. Columbia Records/Sony Music are also defendants in the suit.
DeVitto was abruptly fired by Joel and thrown out of the backing band in 2005. DeVitto had been with Joel since 1975.
He believes he was kicked out for taking part in an intervention with Joel over his addictions. Joel checked into an alcohol rehab center later that year.
It is unclear why DeVitto waited so long to file suit.
A federal judge has dismissed most of the claims by two Minnesota Vikings players facing suspension over positive tests for a banned diuretic. Two of Kevin Williams’s and Pat Williams’s claims against the NFL were remanded to state court but all nine other claims were tossed.
Attorneys for the players’ union and the Williamses argued that league officials knew a supplement called StarCaps contained a banned diuretic back in 2006 and did not specifically notify players. The judge ultimately said that players are responsible for what is in their bodies and have been repeatedly warned not to take dietary supplements.
The remaining claims are allegations that the NFL allegedly violated Minnesota’s drug and alcohol testing laws.
Undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been sued for at least $600,000. A Long Island-based management company claims that Mayweather – who apparently also owns a record label – “stole” a rap artist from it and signed the rapper to his label, Philthy Rich.
The company claims it spent $155,000 on studio time and expenses for Freck Billionaire (real name Jeffrey Whitters) and had an exclusive contract with him dating to 2005. The suit accuses Mayweather of “surreptitiously signing” the rapper.
Former San Diego State and NFL running back Femi Ayanbadejo settled his lawsuit against a Nevada supplement company whose product contained synthetic steroids.
Ayanbadejo tested positive in an NFL steroids test in January 2007 and was then suspended for four games. He claims that he ingested the banned substances as part of a pro-hormone product called Max LMG. The label did not list any banned substances. Ayanbadejo alleges that the stigma of his positive test has prevented him from getting back into the NFL since.
A lawyer for the supplement company said Ayanbadejo tested positive for exactly what was on the label of Max LMG. The product since has been discontinued. It had not been certified as safe by the NFL or the players association.
Al Gore’s daughter Kristin filed for divorce from her husband Paul Cusack in L.A. this week. They have no kids and have been married since 2005.
Not much else to say about that, I guess.
LA Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa are suing former maid Maria Jimenez for breach of contract, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Jimenez has sued the Bryants for wrongful discharge, emotional distress and unpaid wages.
Her suit claims that Vanessa inflicted distress on her during employment, with alleged acts like docking her salary for ruined designer clothing and making her handle dog feces.
The Bryants’ counterclaim and answer also ask for the maid’s suit to be dismissed based upon a non-disclosure agreement.
Britney Spears’ former bodyguard Kerry Vine filed a lawsuit against the pop star this week. In the suit, Vine claims he sustained physical injuries while working at her former home at the Summit in Beverly Hills in March 2008. He also sued the security company with which Spears contracted (Vine’s actual, legal employer).
“Advanced Security Concepts negligently operated their business thereby causing injuries to [Vine] who worked for [Spears] at the time,” Vine’s attorney, Charles Swain, wrote in the complaint. “[Spears] breached that duty of care to the plaintiff by failing to ensure that he could safely perform duties that Advanced Security Concepts ordered him to perform.”
Vine is suing Spears for personal injury, battery and negligence for which he claims he has suffered lost wages, medical and hospital costs, and loss of personal property and earning capacity. I’m not sure exactly what happened – but it seems to be a pretty run-of-the-mill personal injury claim that will be handled by insurance defense attorneys. Any judgment or settlement will most likely be paid out of insurance funds.
The next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 2.
Elgin Baylor, one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA, is suing his insurance company and a contractor over problems with the roof of his Beverly Hills mansion.
The suit alleges that, in February 2008, a “violent rainstorm” caused damage to Baylor’s home, and leaked water damaging several rooms. Baylor turned the claim into his insurance company, which cut him a check. Several months later, the company wanted to do testing on his roof.
Baylor claims the company “failed to repair damages from the testing, leaving holes and openings in the structure.” By February 2009 — Baylor claims the holes still hadn’t been repaired — and rains from a new storm created greater damage to his house.
Now, he’s suing his insurance company and the builder for unspecified damages
The former Miss British Columbia 2004 claims in a lawsuit one of the biggest talent agencies in the world promised her stardom but exploited her and set her up to be sexually assaulted. Claire Robinson filed suit in L.A. County Superior Court against International Creative Management
(ICM).
She claims the agency “hip-pocketed” her (when a senior agent takes an inexperienced actress without credits under his wing) and “sexually exploited her and other ‘hip-pocketed’ actresses” they brought in. Robinson (or, more likely, her attorney) hopes to create a class action suit against ICM with other similarly-situated young actresses.
Robinson claims in her lawsuit she was “sexually battered in an ICM limousine en route to a Paramount Studio event” and that “Robinson was later raped by another co-conspirator.” Robinson claims the alleged rapist is a talent manager who conspired with ICM Executive VP Jack Gilardi.
Robinson claims Gilardi accepted bribes for “hip pocketing” an actress who his friends wanted to “sexually exploit.” The suit alleges the “hip-pocketing” practice is conducted “under the nose of Jeffrey Berg, the Chairman of ICM, in full view of its employees,” and is an “inside joke” or “dirty secret,” known by all within the entertainment industry.
Unless there is a major smoking gun in this case, I’d be surprised to see it go very far…
A federal magistrate has recommended the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Rudy Giuliani’s son Andrew against Duke University. Andrew filed the suit last year, claiming that Duke and its varsity golf coach breached a contract with him when he was dismissed from the golf team in early 2008.
The university and the coach O.D. Vincent responded by saying that Andrew was dismissed for behavior like assaulting a teammate, defying coaches, and violating “both the rules and the spirit of the game of golf.”
In an opinion issued earlier this week, Magistrate Judge Wallace W. Dixon sided with Duke in its motion for judgment on the pleadings against Giuliani (that means that Duke didn’t think the lawsuit had even enough merit to go to trial and to a jury). A copy of Dixon’s opinion, which will now most likely be adopted by a U.S. District Court judge and bring the case to an end, can be found at The Smoking Gun. It is peppered with golf references and even a Caddyshack quote. Good stuff.
Andrew skipped the graduation ceremony at Duke last week. Shocker.
