Veteran R&B group New Edition’s former managers are suing the singers for outstanding fees amounting to over $500,000.
The founders of Benchmark Entertainment filed documents in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday, alleging their former clients refused to pay up after firing them last month, according to the New York Daily News.
Originally hired in 2012, Benchmark’s founders Steven Greener, Kevin Gasser and John Hammond claim they masterminded a New Edition reunion tour, which is set to kick off later this year.
However, after band members Bobby Brown, Ronnie DeVoe, Johnny Gill, Ralph Tresvant, Ricky Bell and Michael Bivins cut ties with them, the Benchmark bosses claim the group refused to pay them for the work they did securing the upcoming tour.
The management company founders claim they are owed at least $500,000 for setting up radio interviews and photo shoots, organizing merchandising deals, securing venues and hiring a publicist,.
Benchmark’s founders have also served as managers for artists such as Will Smith, Erykah Badu, Green Day and Smashing Pumpkins.
The lawsuit is the latest blow for the band – Bobby Brown bowed out of an ongoing U.S. tour due to medical reasons earlier this month.
The singer struggled to bounce back from “an intrusive medical procedure” and found himself exhausted and fatigued onstage. The 45-year-old, who was placed under doctors’ care, returned to the spotlight in Detroit, Michigan on Friday night but still appeared to be struggling to keep up with his bandmates.
Reports suggest Brown had difficulty with the demanding choreography and frequently walked to the end of the stage to pause and break from dance routines.
New Edition’s current tour wraps up in Los Angeles on Aug. 3.
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