The Steel Guitar Forum

Pop Music Group 98 Degrees Sued for $25 Million

Reuters
Oct 12 2000 6:57PM ET


NEW YORK (Reuters) - The former personal manager for the pop music group 98 Degrees is suing its members for $25 million, accusing the group of breach of contract for firing him, lawyers said Thursday.

The suit, filed in Manhattan federal Court Wednesday, alleged the ``boy group'' fired the personal manager ``in a selfish and greedy attempt to avoid paying contracted management fees.''

According to the lawsuit, the Top 40 Entertainment company plucked the group once known as ``Next Issue'' from obscurity, renamed it 98 Degrees and ushered it to success.

Brian Caplan, the attorney representing Paris D'Jon of the management company, said that the contract with the group was to have expired in October 2001.

``However 98 Degrees manufactured a breach agreement in December 1999 of their contractual obligations,'' Caplan said.

Named in the lawsuit were 98 Degrees members Jeffrey Timmons, Nicholas Lachey, Drew Lachey and Justin Jeffre,

The group has had several gold and platinum recordings and toured in more than 20 countries on five continents, including a 100-city U.S. tour two years ago.

RTR/ENTERTAINMENT


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Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047

Are those musicians actually that rich? I find the figure hard to believe.

<SMALL>Are those musicians actually that rich? I find the figure hard to believe.</SMALL>

Standard legal tactic. Always sue for lots more than you expect to get. That way the judge/jury feels like they've been lenient when they reduce the award.

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The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons

<SMALL>Are those musicians actually that rich? </SMALL>

No, but their lawyers are.

Anybody have a reasonable guess as to how much an individual in that group might be worth? (and how long they've been "famous"?)

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The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons

They're probably in hock to their record company big time.

Still? I thought they were supposed to be "all that" and pretty darned popular.

I know that many artists are "in hock" to the record company for quite some time. Maybe they're not as popular as I thought?


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The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons

You know, It's a funny thing, whenever the name of a Country Musician comes up in this forum, I know immediately who they are and in most cases I've heard their music.
I've never heard of 98Degrees though.(Three Degrees I remember!)Maybe they are only famous in the US pop press?
I wonder if it's Pop which is the narrow market and Country which is universal.

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Cheers!

This is a group which is popular among teen and pre-teen groups because they are "cute." They haven't quite made superstar status due to the fact that the talent level isn't up to par and groups such as 'N Sync and the Back Street Boys have overshadowed them.

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I don't drink or lie, but I swear I steel!!

I guess I assumed that 98 Degrees was in the same status as N'Sync and BackStreet Boys. Shows how much I know, I guess.

I've heard that latter 2 groups on HBO specials (or something like that). No matter what others might say, I can certainly tell the difference between their music and today's country music.

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The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons