Country star Clint Black is suing his manager/accountant Charles Sussman and his Music Row firm, Gudvi, Sussman & Oppenheim, according to NashvillePost.com.
In a complaint filed Nov. 7 in Davidson County Chancery Court, Black asserts that Sussman and his firm “repeatedly engaged in self-dealing, negligence, and/or gross negligence” in steering his finances.
The lawsuit says Sussman convinced Black to assign more than $500,000 in royalties to Equity Records, the independent label in which both Sussman and Black have minority ownership. Black says he got nothing in return for this arrangement and was, in effect, “providing Equity an interest-free, unsecured loan.” Further, he claims, Sussman was taking monthly payments from Equity without his knowledge. And Sussman also had him sign more than $1 million worth of personal guarantees for Equity, Black asserts.
Also at issue was the contract status of rising country band Little Big Town, which bolted Equity for Capitol Records Nashville earlier this year. Black says he had been told that the group was signed to a long-term deal with Equity. Black claims Sussman kept him in the dark about the terms of Little Big Town’s contract, which allowed them to leave after recording two albums for the label.
Black seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, according to NashvillePost.com.
