The "Civil Law Suits" Thread

[TexasStooge]

This is a thread of famous celebrities suing/being sued by other people or companies. So to kick things off...

Martin Lawrence accused of assault in civil suit

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — A woman sued comedian Martin Lawrence for allegedly hitting her in the jaw at a party after she asked him if he'd be interested in attending another party at the Playboy mansion.

Jennifer Palmer sued Monday in Superior Court seeking more than $25,000 for assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Lawrence's publicist, Arnold Robinson, said the accusations are false and "financially motivated."

The lawsuit alleges Palmer approached Lawrence at a Jan. 18 party and told him about another party she knew was happening at the Playboy mansion. Lawrence responded by "wildly waving his hands around, slurring and mumbling in a manner suggesting that he was intoxicated or otherwise disoriented, using very foul language," the lawsuit said.

When he heard Palmer telling friends about his behavior, he allegedly confronted her "in an angry and threatening manner," the lawsuit said. Palmer tried to push him away and he allegedly struck her in the jaw.

Witnesses contacted by Lawrence's representatives told a different story, Robinson said.

"An intoxicated and disorderly individual verbally insulted and physically attacked Lawrence without provocation, at which time Lawrence understandably moved to defend himself," Robinson said in a statement.

A hearing in the case was scheduled for June 7.

[TexasStooge]

Eminem sues Apple Computers, says song used in ad without permission

DETROIT, Michigan (AP) — Rapper Eminem's music publisher is suing Apple Computer Inc., claiming the company used one of the hip-hop superstar's songs in a television advertisement without permission.

Eight Mile Style filed the copyright infringement suit late last week against Apple, Viacom Inc., its MTV subsidiary and the TBWA/Chiat/Day advertising agency.

At issue is an ad for Apple's iTunes pay-per-download music software, in which a 10-year-old sings Eminem's "Lose Yourself." The suit claims the commercial aired on MTV beginning in July 2003 and ran numerous times for at least three months. It also appeared on Apple's Web site.

"Eminem has never nationally endorsed any commercial products and ... even if he were interested in endorsing a product, any endorsement deal would require a significant amount of money, possibly in excess of $10 million," according to the 15-page lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

The suit claims that Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs personally called Joel Martin, manager of Eight Mile Style, and asked Martin and Eminem to "rethink their position" about using the Grammy-winning song.

Eminem responded by ending discussions with Apple, according to the suit.

Eminem, 31, whose legal name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, grew up in Detroit and several of its blue-collar suburbs. He has sold more than 33 million records, according to industry estimates.

[TexasStooge]

Game show producer's suit against Dick Clark alleges age discrimination

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — A 76-year-old game show producer sued Dick Clark Monday, alleging the 74-year-old Clark called him a "dinosaur" and refused to hire him because of his age.

Ralph Andrews, who produced the 1960s and '70s game shows "It Takes Two," "By the Numbers" and "You Don't Say," filed the suit in Superior Court.

Andrews' attorney, Phillip R. Maltin, said Clark's actions violate the Fair Employment and Housing Act, which makes it illegal for an employer "to discriminate against a person who applies for a position based upon that person's age."

The suit also names Dick Clark Productions and one of its owners, Mosaic Media Group, and seeks general and punitive damages.

Paul Shefrin, a spokesman for Dick Clark Productions, said the company does not comment on pending litigation. A message left after business hours for Mosaic Media Group was not immediately returned.

In the complaint, Andrews says he spoke off and on for more than a year with Clark and other executives about joining the company and was told he would be considered for any openings.

But when he wrote Clark to say he was interested in available positions, Clark wrote back, allegedly turning Andrews down because of his age.

"I have great respect and admiration for your accomplishments, and wish you success in your desire to 'get back to work," Clark's letter read, according to the suit.

"(But) the last development guy we hired was 27 years old. Another person who is joining our staff next week is 30. People our age are considered dinosaurs! The business is being run by 'The Next Generation.'"

Clark added, "On a brighter note, Ralph, please know that if any project comes up where we could use your experienced hands, I wouldn't hesitate to call you."

Andrews told The Associated Press he has known Clark for 40 years and hired him on several game shows, including a brief 1997 revival of "It Takes Two."

[TexasStooge]

DirecTV sues O.J. Simpson for $20,000 over cable piracy

By EMANUELLA GRINBERG, Court TV

O.J. Simpson is treading legal waters once again.

Satellite television provider DirecTV filed a civil suit last Wednesday in Miami County accusing the one-time Heisman trophy winner and acquitted murder defendant of pirating TV signals.

The allegations stem from a police search conducted at Simpson's suburban Miami home on Dec. 4, 2001. The raid was part of an ongoing investigation into a money-laundering and narcotics ring, as well as the sale of pirated, satellite TV decoder equipment.

During the raid, police seized equipment from Simpson's home that DirecTV claims were "bootloaders," devices used to unscramble the company's satellite signals. No charges had been filed against Simpson in connection with the search until now.

"The evidence is quite strong against Mr. Simpson," said Robert Mercer, DirecTV spokesperson. "When the officers went into his home, the TV was on, and the devices were in plain sight."

The suit seeks $20,000 in damages, plus $850 in legal fees from the former football great and occasional B-movie actor, who gave his most recent performances in Leslie Nielsen's Naked Gun movies.

But Simpson is not being made into a celebrity martyr, Mercer said, as evidenced by DirecTV's legal pursuits in a slew of similar cases. The company has filed more than 22,000 suits since late 2002 against individuals who acquire the DirecTV cable boxes legally, but connect to its satellite using illegal access cards that circumvent DirecTV's programming defenses.

Only four cases have gone to trial so far, all of which were returned with verdicts in DirecTV's favor. Mercer said Simpson was offered the opportunity to compensate DirecTV with an undisclosed fee and a written agreement never to steal its services. Simpson declined.

The suit is the latest in a string of brushes with the law for Simpson since his infamous trial for the 1994 murders of wife Nicole Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. He was acquitted of those charges but found liable in the subsequent civil case and ordered to pay $33.5 million.

Recently a judge ordered Simpson to hand over profits he collected from signing autographs to Ronald Goldman's mother, who claims she has yet to collect any of her $1.27 million settlement for her son's death.

Weeks before the 2001 search of his Kendall, Fla., home — where he relocated to escape the media frenzy following the highly publicized trial — Simpson was found not guilty of auto burglary and battery in a road-rage squabble with a driver from his neighborhood.

A year later in November 2002, Simpson received a ticket for driving a speedboat through a safety zone for endangered manatees. After skipping the hearing, a warrant issued for his arrest was later revoked once he eventually showed up in court.

Simpson's lawyer, Yale Galanter, declined to comment immediately.

[TexasStooge]

Bolton files wrongful termination suit against Dallas

By TERRI LANGFORD and DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Fired Dallas Police Chief Terrell Bolton filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Dallas on Thursday, saying he was wrongfully terminated when he was removed from his post last summer.

The widely anticipated lawsuit charges that Dallas officials failed to abide by the city charter when removing him.

"I regret that it has come to this," Mr. Bolton said in a written statement released Thursday. "But we tried to give the city a chance to do the right thing, and they refused."

After hinting for months that he might sue, Mr. Bolton, 45, said Thursday that he was left with no alternative. Mr. Bolton had served as police chief for nearly four years before Dallas City Manager Ted Benavides dismissed him Aug. 26.

Janice Moss, Dallas assistant city attorney, said the city will prevail.

"The law is in the city's favor," she said. "The claims do not have merit."

The suit, which asks for unspecified damages, says that the city charter requires that instead of being fired, Mr. Bolton should have been restored to his previous rank of sergeant. Mr. Benavides and the city were named as the suit's defendants.

"It's not unexpected," Mr. Benavides said of the suit. "I had the authority to terminate Chief Bolton's employment with the city of Dallas."

He declined to comment further.

The city attorney's office has said that federal courts have decided in the city's favor on the issue of whether a top ranking officer should be demoted rather than fired. Ms. Moss and the Dallas city attorney's office are relying on a recent 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling they say supports them. City officials believe the charter only limits the city's ability to retain high ranking officers, not its ability to remove them.

But attorneys for Mr. Bolton, Dallas' first black police chief, disagree, arguing that the city is relying on non-binding opinions expressed in the ruling, and not the ruling itself.

"I've read that opinion a dozen times," Robert C. Hinton, Mr. Bolton's attorney, said at a Thursday news conference. "It doesn't say what the city thinks it says."

"The issue here is whether or not the city followed the charter and whether or not the charter confers a property interest in his position on the Police Department," Mr. Hinton said. "Mr. Bolton's position is that his right to a job in the police force, his property, was improperly taken from him."

Mr. Hinton conceded that if the city were to offer Mr. Bolton a position as sergeant, the bulk suit would be dropped. But the former police chief would still claim back pay and other damages, he said.

James Jones, a Dallas attorney who specializes in employment law and is working with Mr. Hinton on the suit, said Mr. Benavides was targeted in the suit because of his central role in the firing.

"If there's anybody in the city who knew how this should have been done, It's Ted Benavídes, and he's the one who didn't do it."

Mr. Bolton, a 24-year veteran of the department, was tapped by Mr. Benavides in 1999 to replace retiring Chief Ben Click. But after a series of controversies occurred on Mr. Bolton's watch, Mr. Benavides made the decision to fire him. The issues included deteriorating relations with the FBI, the fake-drugs scandal, the demotion of several commanders and an unwillingness to follow Mr. Benavides' directives.

Although the lawsuit fails to offer a specific damage amount, Robert C. Hinton, Mr. Bolton's attorney, said the lost income, benefits and Mr. Bolton's mental anguish could push damages into the millions of dollars.

Mr. Hinton formally notified the city last month that he intended to proceed with legal action on behalf of his client and that he should be compensated for more than $5 million worth of mental anguish. That $5 million claim was based on the amount the city paid seven police commanders Mr. Bolton demoted while he was chief.

City officials have consistently vowed that they have no plans to pay Mr. Bolton, calling his firing by Mr. Benavides justified.

"I don't think there's anything that's been done that'd cause the city to pay damages," said Dr. Elba Garcia, chairwoman of the City Council Public Safety Committee. "Obviously, the manager had just cause to fire Mr. Bolton."

But Mayor Pro Tem John Loza left open the possibility of Dallas settling the lawsuit, saying it's too early to declare the case over when it hasn't begun.

"It's a little premature to say that until the city attorney reads the suit," Mr. Loza said. "I'm not going to rule anything out. It's too early to tell."

The city of Dallas has hired a small Georgia headhunting firm to find Mr. Bolton's successor. Police chief candidates have until Monday to file their application. At least 53 candidates have applied.

Staff writer Matt Stiles contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Couple sues building owner over 300-pound ice chunk that fell through roof

NEW YORK (AP) — A couple who say they were nearly killed by a 300-pound ice chunk that crashed through their apartment's roof and shattered on the bed where they were laying have sued the owner of the building next door.

Phillip and Lesley Carter suffered cuts and bruises to their heads and bodies in the Feb. 7 incident, in which the massive chunk of ice fell from the neighboring 10-story building.

"They were lucky to get out alive," said the couple's attorney, James Fitzgerald. "When it hit the bed it exploded into many pieces and sliced them up."

The lawsuit names real estate agent Lee Powers, the owner of the neighboring building, and two of her real estate firms as defendants.

Powers' telephone number is not published and attempts to reach her realty companies was unsuccessful.

The Carters contend in court papers that a leak in a three-story water tower on the roof of the next building caused an "iceberg" of more than 1,000 pounds to form.

Despite similar ice formations in prior years and warnings from neighbors, Powers did nothing to fix the problem, the lawsuit alleges.

On Feb. 7, around 9:30 a.m., the Carters were in bed, reading newspapers and drinking coffee when "a giant stalactite of ice weighing 300 pounds" broke off the larger chunk of ice and dropped 10 stories into their third-floor apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

The ice tore a 21/2-foot diameter hole in the roof and ceiling of their third-floor bedroom.

The Fire Department declared the Carters' rental apartment "uninhabitable due to dangerous (Ford Explorer size) ice formations still on the defendant's roof and water tower that could fall at any time," the lawsuit says.

[TexasStooge]

School district settles sexual harassment suit with son of radio talk show host

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada school district has agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a sexual-harassment lawsuit filed by the son of radio talk show host Art Bell.

Arthur Bell IV was a sophomore at Pahrump Valley High School in May 1997 when he was sexually assaulted by a substitute teacher. The teacher, Brian Lepley, was later convicted and sentenced to prison.

"It's been a long case, and I know my client is glad that it's over," Bell's lawyer, John Hawley, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Friday.

Paul Anderson, who represents the Nye County School District, said the same settlement was offered a few years ago but was rejected. The case was scheduled for trial later this month in Las Vegas.

"We're pleased with the result," Anderson said. "We don't acknowledge any liability in the case and felt that we had a strong defense."

The younger Bell, now 23, identified himself as the plaintiff when he filed an amended lawsuit in May 1999, six months after his parents anonymously filed suit on his behalf.

Art Bell founded the "Coast to Coast" radio show in 1993 but resigned in April 2000 after his son was assaulted. He returned to the air in 2001 but retired two years later, citing ongoing back problems.

In September, he announced his return as weekend host of the program.

[TexasStooge]

Workers Suing Over Man in See-Through Shorts

SANTA FE, N.M. (Reuters) - Former employees of Whole Foods Market have sued the natural foods supermarket operator, saying it did not take proper action to prevent a male customer from parading through a Santa Fe store wearing white, see-through biking shorts with no underwear.

Closing arguments in the case were held on Thursday.

Maria Bautista and seven other plaintiffs are suing under New Mexico's Human Rights Act, saying the store fostered an environment of discrimination and sexual harassment that caused them emotional distress. They are seeking an unspecified amount in damages.

They also claim the store ignored their complaints about a middle-aged man in the see-through, body-hugging shorts and fired one of them in retaliation for her complaint. They claim the man was not escorted out of the store even though the employees asked managers to act.

The incident took place at a Santa Fe store about four years ago.

Lawyers for Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market Inc. , said one of the plaintiffs was fired for insubordination while the others left for a variety of reasons. The lawyers said the claims are an attempt to reap financial gain and retaliate for the one employee being fired.

[TexasStooge]

Madonna's Maverick Records sues Warner Music, Time Warner

LOS ANGELES, Ca. (AP) — Madonna's Maverick Records label sued Warner Music Group and Time Warner Inc. for breach of contract on Thursday, accusing the record company and its former parent of mismanagement and improper accounting that cost the singer and her partners millions of dollars.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute between Madonna and Warner over Maverick, a joint venture the singer and record company launched in 1992.

In the suit, Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Maverick accuses Warner Music and the other defendants of "engaging in acts of self-dealing and profit-taking, falsely accounting for receipts and expenses of the partnership ... and secretly attempting to seize partnership opportunities for their own benefit."

Maverick claims Warner violated the venture agreement by failing to pay for "guaranteed" services like radio promotion, marketing and sales meant to support Maverick artists.

The suit also contends Warner obscured label profits by using "artificial and improper accounting methodology to create the false impression of losses."

In a statement, Warner Music Group called Maverick's claims "baseless, unsubstantiated and without merit."

Madonna's Tadpole Records Inc. and companies owned by her label partners, Guy Oseary and Ronnie Dashev, are also named as plaintiffs.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare that the three partners have the right to end the joint partnership agreement and do business with other companies. Madonna and her partners also seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, which attorney Bert Fields estimated total more than $200 million.

"They feel that they have not been accounted to properly," Fields said. "They want fair accounting and they want damages for their losses."

The suit came a day after Warner filed a sealed lawsuit in Delaware, asking the court to affirm that Maverick's claims are baseless, according to the court documents filed Thursday in Los Angeles.

Warner also took effort to separate the dispute over Maverick from its business relationship with the singer, which dates to 1984.

"This effort to resolve ongoing contractual issues surrounding the Maverick Records joint venture agreement in no way impacts the company's deep respect for Madonna," the statement said.

A Madonna spokeswoman said the singer had no comment. A Time Warner spokeswoman said the company doesn't comment on pending litigation.

Time Warner sold Warner Music Group in November to an investor group including Edgar Bronfman Jr., Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital and Providence Equity Partners.

Madonna and her partners own a combined 60 percent stake in Maverick, whose artist roster includes Alanis Morissette and Michelle Branch. Warner owns the remaining 40 percent.

The current contract between Maverick and Warner is set to expire at the end of this year, and both sides have been trying to negotiate a settlement to the dispute for months.

Maverick asserts in the lawsuit that the label has generated more than $900 million in sales and profits of more than $100 million for Warner Music Group since Maverick was formed.

[TexasStooge]

'Barbie Is a Lesbian' Shirt Suit Settled

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City public schools will allow students to wear clothes with political slogans after settling a lawsuit with a teen-age girl who was suspended for wearing a T-shirt that said "Barbie is a Lesbian," her lawyer said on Thursday.

"Students in the nation's largest school district will now have the First Amendment right to wear T-shirts and armbands that express controversial political views," attorney Ronald Kuby said.

Some 1.1 million students attend New York City public schools.

The city also agreed to pay $30,000 to Kuby's client, 15-year-old Natalie Young, a lesbian who was sent to the principal's office in April 2002 when she showed up at her school in the Queens borough wearing her "Barbie is a Lesbian" T-shirt.

She refused to change and was suspended for the day and threatened with further suspension if she wore it again.

Her mother sued the city over her right to express her views.

"I felt there was nothing wrong with it," Young said as she held up the T-shirt during a news conference.

Kuby said the school system also agreed to require teachers and administrators to undergo sensitivity training to improve relations with gay and lesbian students.

He said the New York City School Department, which lacked a written policy concerning student dress, agreed to adopt one that conforms to federal Education Department policy and U.S. Supreme Court rulings on student expression.

"Students don't have the full set of First Amendment rights in an educational setting, but they do have substantial rights," he said.

The new policy states that students have the right to "wear political or other types of buttons, badges or armbands, except where such material is libelous, obscene" or disrupts the school or leads to disorder or invades the rights of others.

The policy also bans dress that is "dangerous or interferes with the learning or teaching process."

Kuby said the measure allows a student to wear a T-shirt that says the war with Iraq (news - web sites) was wrong, but could ban T-shirts praising Osama Bin Laden.

Donna Kasbohm, an attorney for the city, said she expected to sign off on the settlement.

"I do not anticipate any problems," she told Reuters.

[TexasStooge]

Police chief sued for paddling boy as diversion sentence for speeding ticket

WARREN, Ohio (AP) — A part-time police chief has been suspended after a lawsuit accused him of assaulting a teenager by paddling the boy as part of a crime diversion program for a speeding ticket.

Carol Woolf of Vienna said she initially agreed to let her 16-year-old son be paddled, then refused to have him return for 14 more sessions because of the welts he suffered.

"This child is traumatized," Woolf said.

James Martin was suspended as part-time police chief of Fowler Township and also as a full-time police officer in nearby Howland Township, pending investigations by state officials and the FBI. No charges have been filed.

Howland Township disciplined the officer more than a decade ago after he admitted paddling about 20 juveniles. The townships are suburbs of Warren, about 70 miles southeast of Cleveland.

Woolf's $200,000 lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Youngstown, names Martin and three Fowler trustees as defendants.

Woolf said Martin told her that her son Richard's participation in a juvenile diversion program that included paddling would make his speeding ticket "go away."

She said Martin told her the program involved 23 rules that her son had to follow and that there would be 15 paddling sessions.

She said that during the first session in January, at the police station, her son was struck three times on the bare buttocks with a wooden paddle.

"When Ritchie came out, he was hysterical," Woolf said Tuesday. "Never have I seen that child cry like he cried."

There was no immediate comment from Martin. His attorney, Randall Weltman, said Martin wanted to let the investigation take its course.

Township trustees didn't immediately comment on the lawsuit.

[TexasStooge]

Woman sues city for not renewing her business license for topless maid service

WEST POINT, Utah (AP) — A woman has accused a northern Utah city of trying to sweep her topless maid business out of town.

The West Point City Council has revoked the home business license of Dee Dee Derian, saying she misused it by sometimes running the business from a cell phone outside her home.

The license allowed her to do scheduling and bookkeeping for Black Rose Maids, her topless maid service that also operates in Arizona and California.

Derian, 44, accused the city of discriminating against her because she's not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the dominant religion in Utah.

West Point officials say they are bound by law to prevent Derian from operating the business if it violates her license, and the decision had nothing to do with the nature of her business.

Since January, she has been operating without a license, and she filed a lawsuit this month accusing the city of wrongfully failing to renew it.

Derian received national attention in 2001 when her neighbors complained about her doing yard work in a bikini. Prosecutors declined to press charges after determining she hadn't broken the law.

[TexasStooge]

Anna Kournikova's parents sue her over Miami Beach mansion

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Anna Kournikova is being sued by her parents, who say the 22-year-old tennis starlet has taken over the waterfront home the three jointly own.

Sergei and Alla Kournikova filed the lawsuit last week in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. They want the seven-bedroom home "partitioned," meaning they want money for their share of the home. It was purchased for $5 million in 2000.

Her agent, David Schwab, said Thursday he was unaware of the lawsuit and had no immediate comment.

Kournikova, who has never won a tournament and is known mostly for her supermodel looks, has not played competitive tennis in more than a year because of injuries.

[TexasStooge]

Music group sues Nelly for using its name for his clothing line

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Two members of a musical group called Vokal have accused rap star Nelly in a lawsuit of wrongly taking their name for his multimillion dollar clothing line.

James Tyrone Wilson and Cameron Caines are suing Nelly for trademark infringement and unfair competition. The singers want an injunction to stop Nelly from using the name and millions of dollars in damages.

"Right now, since we don't have an accounting of the profits, we can't completely quantify the damages," Michael Santucci, an attorney for the singers in Fort Lauderdale, said Wednesday.

Vokal Clothing Co., which makes Nelly's line of clothes, made more than $20 million in 2002, Santucci said, so a damage award could be a "seven or eight-figure number."

Lisa Buckley, an attorney for the clothing company and Nelly, whose legal name is Cornell Hayes Jr., didn't return two phone calls to her New York office.

Wilson and Caines have written music, performed live, recorded songs and distributed clothing under the name Vokal since 1994, according to the lawsuit filed last February in U.S. District Court in Orlando.

In 1998, Vokal signed a recording and distribution contract with Universal Records, around the same time the label signed Nelly. Wilson and Caines said they retained exclusive rights over the name Vokal when they signed with Universal Records, and that Nelly knew about the group and its business activities, the lawsuit said.

Shortly after signing with Universal Records, Nelly began selling clothing bearing the name "Vokal," according to the lawsuit.

"Nelly's people should have known about this since they were on the same label together," Santucci said.

[stormchazer]

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The makers of the Slip 'N Slide filed a lawsuit Monday over a scene in the hit movie "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" that shows actor David Spade skidding to a painful halt on the summertime water toy.
Wham-O is asking a judge to order the film out of theaters as long as it contains the Slip 'N Slide scene, or for a disclaimer to be added urging viewers not to try the maneuver made by Spade.

[TexasStooge]

Former Manager Sues Singer Ricky Martin

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Ricky Martin (news)'s former manager has filed a $63.5 million lawsuit against the singer for breach of contract.

Angelo Medina claims the 32-year-old pop star failed to live up to terms agreed upon when they ended their contract in September. Medina claims he was to have continued managing Martin's career in Puerto Rico but not internationally, but the singer broke all ties.

Edgardo Cartagena, a lawyer for Martin, said Thursday the allegations are "not too well-organized."

"There was an agreement to terminate the relationship," Cartagena said. "We reject the allegations."

Judge Oscar Davila agreed Wednesday to hear the case. Martin didn't attend the hearing.

Medina filed the lawsuit in response to a $2.5 million lawsuit Martin filed against him in New York. Martin is demanding that Medina return advance payments for services allegedly not given.

The next hearing in Medina's lawsuit is Aug. 13.

Medina, who said he parted ways with Martin to spend more time with his family, has expressed dismay over being sued by the star, whom he considered "a son."

Martin's hits include "She Bangs," "Shake Your Bon-Bon" and "Livin' La Vida Loca."

[TexasStooge]

Former manager sues Jewel, blames mother

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jewel's former manager is seeking more than $10 million from the singer, claiming she was fired after Jewel's mother engineered a rift between them.

Inga Vainshtein, who says she discovered the 24-year-old singer five years ago in San Diego, filed a lawsuit Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The suit claims that Jewel's mother, Lenedra Carroll, shadowed Vainshtein as a "co-manager" to learn how to handle Jewel's business affairs, then urged her daughter to fire Vainshtein when she learned enough to do it on her own.

Jewel's mother also told the singer that advice from Vainshtein had to be approved by a "channeller" who purportedly sought advice from an entity referred to as "Z," the lawsuit claims.

A message seeking comment from Jewel's publicist at Atlantic Records was not returned Monday.