Sure, the pretty boys of 'N Sync look fairly harmless singing 'Tearin Up My
Heart', but mess with them and heads will roll.
The bubblegum popsters and two of their mothers filed a $25 million-plus
lawsuit this week in Florida against their Svengali-esque former manager,
music mogul Louis Pearlman.
The move comes in retaliation for the $150 million lawsuit Pearlman filed in
October alleging the boy band broke its contract when it bailed on the RCA
label to go to Jive Records.
A recap: 'N Sync left BMG Entertainment (RCA's parent company) and signed
with independent record giant Zomba Recording (Jive's parent), home to the
Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears.
BMG was not happy to lose the lucrative quintet to Jive, and, along with
Pearlman's Trans Continental, went to court to keep 'N Sync from releasing
its third album with Jive. Pearlman's suit also seeks to "obtain a court
order to prevent 'N Sync from existing."
So 'N Sync filed the counterclaim Tuesday in U.S. District Court in their
hometown of Orlando saying Pearlman should pay them $25 million for fraud,
breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty when Pearlman was 'N Sync's
manager.
In the court papers, 'N Sync says its members--Joshua "JC" Chasez, Justin
Timberlake, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone and James Lance Bass--"have been
the victims of a con man, plaintiff Louis Pearlman, who has become wealthy at
their expense. They have been cheated at every turn by Pearlman's fraud,
manipulation and breach of fiduciary duty. As a final affront, Pearlman now
seeks the aid of a federal court to ratify his theft and leave 'N Sync unable
to pursue its career."
The 'N Syncers claims that, while their self-titled debut album sold 3
million copies by November 1998, they only received a $25,000 check and
weekly expenses during their tour. (All told, the album has sold a total of 7
million copies.) They also claim that, contrary to Pearlman's contention that
he created and copyrighted the group's moniker, Timberlake's mom actually
came up with the name, and Pearlman stole it.
The Pearlman-BMG camp call the 'N Sync action groundless. "This case is about
the rule of law and the importance of honoring contracts. The false and
inflammatory rhetoric contained in the court papers...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."
This isn't the first time one of Pearlman's prefab boy bands has flown the
coop. Last year, the Backstreet Boys bailed on Trans Continental, purportedly
because they weren't too fond of Pearlman representing both them and 'N Sync.
Then in October, just after 'N Sync joined Jive, Backstreet filed a
breach-of-contract suit against the label, claiming that the record company
exploited them.
