'N Sync Level Fighting Words at Label
'N Sync respond with harsh salvo in legal battle with label
The food fight disguised as a lawsuit between 'N Sync and its former label
Trans Continental just got nastier. In written responses filed in federal
court late Tuesday afternoon, group members insist they have been deceived by
Trans Continental boss Lou Pearlman, "an unscrupulous, greedy and
sophisticated businessman who posed as an unselfish, loving father figure and
took advantage of our trust."
The name-calling stems from the ugly breakup between multi-platinum `N Sync
and Trans Continental, which has been playing out in public in recent months.
During the summer, the boys, crying foul over their original Trans
Continental contract, bolted to Jive Records. Trans Continental, joined by
its U.S. partner RCA Records, went to court to prevent the move as well as to
collect $150 million in damages. With `N Sync responses now on file, the two
parties are expected to meet in a Florida court sometime this month. Don't
look for any warm greetings, though.
According to the affidavit filed by `N Sync member Joshua Scott Chasez (a k a
JC), Pearlman (who also hatched the Backstreet Boys) was not the force behind
`N Sync's success, as he has claimed. Chasez testified Pearlman did not come
up with the `N Sync name, was not responsible for grooming the boys' act,
rarely attended rehearsals, was not present in the recording studio when the
group recorded their first album.
In addition, according to Chasez, Pearlman refused to pass along a fair
amount of album sales and merchandising earnings to the members, and urged
them not to hire outside lawyers. Chasez testified that Pearlman, by naming
himself the group's sixth member as well as business manager, took one-sixth
of the earnings. Pearlman was also acting as the `N Sync manager (finding
them work), and their business manager (taking care of the money).
Responding to the plea from Trans Continental that a judge put an injunction
on `N Sync's scheduled album release with Jive, set for early 2000, Chasez
testifies, "We are painfully aware that our careers may be brief...We are
overdue for a new record and if we don't have one another group may capture
the attention of our audience. An injunction may be the end of `NSYNC.
However, we cannot work with people who have lied to us and taken advantage
of us."
In response, Trans Continental and RCA parent BMG issued a joint statement
which insisted, "The false and inflammatory rhetoric contained in the court
papers filed [Tuesday] have no place in a court of law, where we are
confident that the group's exclusive obligations to Trans Continental and BMG
will be upheld."