(EXCLUSIVE) August Alsina Universal Music Lawsuit Dismissed

August Alsina

August Alsina – Universal Music Lawsuit Dismissed

theJasmineBRAND.com exclusively reports, a Florida federal judge has for the second time tossed claims from a Miami-based talent agency against Universal Music Group and others seeking a share of a $3 million record deal signed by R&B artist August Alsina. A judge ruled that the agency failed to follow court rules.

Here’s the latest: A judge found that plaintiff Dynasty Management LLC failed to respond in a timely fashion to a motion to dismiss from defendant UMG Recordings Inc. and another from defendants NNTME and its CEO, Henry Lee, and tossed the claims, although she said Dynasty may have one more chance to refile.

She also dismissed claims against August Alsina; his mother, Sheila Sanders; and another defendant, finding Dynasty had failed to follow through on her order that it file a motion for final default judgment against them by Sept. 16.

Dynasty Management LLC sued UMG, Alsina, UMG executives and others over a $3 million contract he signed with Universal Music Group label Def Jam Recordings. The company argued it was entitled to 15 percent of Alsina’s contract with Def Jam as a result of an existing management contract.

Here’s the backstory: The case was originally filed in state court in Miami in September 2015, but was removed to federal court in February.

In August, a judge dismissed claims against UMG without prejudice, and against Def Jam CEO Steve Bartels and UMG CEO Lucian Grainge with prejudice.

Dynasty also raised claims in its complaint related to United Kingdom-based distributor Ditto Music Ltd.’s decision to pull a recording featuring Alsina from the iTunes and Spotify online music services after Def Jam and UMG threatened to sue the company, but the judge dismissed claims against Ditto after finding no record it had ever been served.

Dynasty says it had entered into discussions with Def Jam on Alsina’s behalf before the singer broke off his contact with the company and entered into an agreement with Nntme Muco LLC, an Atlanta entertainment company previously known as Noontime Music Inc., without properly terminating their existing contract.

Noontime and its representatives ended up securing Alsina the $3 million record deal with Def Jam, which is owned by UMG.

The suit brought a claim of breach of contract against Alsina and his mother, Sheila Sanders, who was his guardian when he signed with Dynasty. Noontime, CEO Henry Lee and Donald Albright, another Noontime employee who helped manage Alsina, were named in two counts for tortious interference.

Dynasty argued that Alsina relinquished his rights to his works to the agency under a 2009 contract, including the recording of a song called “That Boy” that it produced as a single to market him to Def Jam and other record labels.

After Alsina had reached his deal with Def Jam, Dynasty entered into a distribution agreement with Ditto and used Alsina’s vocals on the renamed track “I’m That Boy,” but UMG and Def Jam sent a cease-and-desist letter over the track and threatened litigation, according to Dynasty.

Ditto ultimately pulled the track from iTunes and Spotify, Dynasty said, allegedly breaching their agreement.

In the instant order, the judge cited the Local Rules of the Southern District of Florida, which say failure to respond to an opposing memorandum of law within 14 days after service of a motion “may be deemed sufficient cause for granting the motion by default.”

Follow us: @theJasmineBRAND on Twitter | theJasmineBRAND on Facebook| theJasmineBRAND_ on Instagram