|
Blues Label Fat Possum Slams Epitaph with Suit
08/19/2004 12:38 PM, Reuters
Chris Morris
Mississippi blues label Fat
Possum Records and its owner Matthew Johnson have sued former
joint-venture partner Epitaph Records, alleging that Epitaph
hatched "a malicious plot ... to financially destroy Johnson
and Fat Possum."
The suit, filed Tuesday in California Superior Court in
L.A., charges Epitaph with breach of contract, breach of
fiduciary duty, fraud, interference with contractual relations
and a host of other abuses.
According to the suit, Oxford, Miss.-based Fat Possum --
home to R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and other contemporary
bluesmen -- was being funded by L.A.-based Epitaph under the
terms of a joint-venture agreement reached in July 1997. From
that time until 2003, Fat Possum operated at a loss.
However, the action maintains that in October 2003, as it
appeared Fat Possum was about to move into profitability,
Epitaph told the label it would no longer fund operations or
pay Johnson's salary.
The suit maintains that under financial duress, Johnson
agreed to buy back Epitaph's interest in Fat Possum for an
unstated price. The action claims that after Epitaph increased
pressure on Johnson by delaying the signing of the redemption
agreement, it was amended to add $50,000 to the redemption
price.
It also alleges that under further pressure from Epitaph,
Fat Possum gave up rights to distribute Solomon Burke's
successful 2002 album and the forthcoming album by the Black
Keys. Fat Possum also claims that immediately before the
effective redemption date of June 1, 2004, Epitaph instructed
its distributors in the U.S. and abroad to sell off Fat Possum
product at "fire sale" prices. It alleges that product returned
to Fat Possum by Epitaph and its distributor, Koch, was far
short of the amounts stated by those companies in inventories
conducted in early June.
Fat Possum seeks damages in an amount to be determined.
Epitaph president Andy Kaulkin could not be reached for
comment.
Reuters/Billboard
|
