One-time hedge-fund manager Steven Lamar also says that he founded Beats Electronics, among other claims.
Last week, former hedge-fund manager Steven Lamar filed a legal action against Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine and others regarding Beats Electronics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Earlier this month, it was reported that Apple is set to purchase Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion.
Lamar accuses the Beats Electronics frontmen with breach
of contract and is seeking as high as a four percent royalty rate for
sale of the company’s headphones, among other claims.
Lamar "is suing Iovine, Dre, Beats, Pentagram and H&A
for breaching the terms of the settlement agreement and royalty
agreement,” The Hollywood Reporter says in its story. "He's suing the
same parties for bad faith denial of contract; suing Brunner, Pentagram
and H&A for breach of fiduciary duties; and suing Brunner for
tortious interference for allegedly inducing Iovine/Dre/Beats to renege
on their contractual obligations made eight years ago.”
According to his filings, Lamar in 2006 took the concept
of celebrity-endorsed headphones to Iovine. Once Beats Electronics
signed with Monster, LLC for distribution, Lamar’s filing says that Dr.
Dre and Iovine were slated for a 20 percent royalty and Lamar and his
Jibe Audio company a five percent royalty.
In July of 2006, Dr. Dre and Iovine filed a lawsuit
against Lamar, Jibe, Pentagram (a design firm reportedly used by Lamar
to design the line of headphones) and SLS International (where Lamar was
president at the time) regarding Beats, accusing them of not living up
to their contractual obligations and of planning to release their own
line of “Beats” headphones without Dr. Dre, the Hollywood Reporter says.
Dr. Dre and Iovine settled that case and agreed to pay
Lamar and his co-defendants a four percent royalty on certain
headphones, though which ones was not specified.
Lamar’s filings claim that Pentagram and Hinrichs &
Associates, its tax and auditing firm, collected payments and other
monetary compensation for additional headphones also covered through its
agreement.
Lamar’s cross-filing against Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine and Beats Electronics is as follows:
Beats Cross by Eriq Gardner
