The rapper alleges that his attorneys at Garvey Schubert Barer was not representing him well during the legal battle which contributed to his bankruptcy.
- October 8, 2015
AceShowbiz -
Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent, has filed a lawsuit against his ex-lawyers for not building a better case for him in his failed headphone venture. The rapper accused Wall Street law firm Garvey Schubert Barer (GSB) of giving him a poor representation during the legal battle against Sleek Audio.
Deriving from Dr. Dre's success in Beats by Dr. Dre, 50 teamed up with Sleek Audio in 2010 to use his name for a new headphones brand called Sleek by 50. According to 50's complaint, he invested $2 million but the audio company failed to meet the deadline and did not market the headphones. He took over the products under his own new company SMS Audio after taking advice from GSB who assured him he wouldn't be infringing on intellectual property rights held by Sleek.
Sleek later sued 50 Cent for misappropriating its trade secrets while marketing the headphones among others. The company eventually won the case and was awarded $11 million plus $5 million in attorney fees. 50 filed for bankruptcy protection in July.
On Tuesday, October 6, 50 filed a complaint against GSB to seek a whopping $75 million in damages. He said GSB should have warned him not to invest with Sleek and should have advised that his SMS headphones would infringe on the Sleek deal after it fell apart. He accused the lawyers of failing to "employ the requisite knowledge and skill necessary to confront the circumstances of the case."
50 also pointed out that GSB had inexplicable decision not to call technical and damages experts to rebut expert testimony offered by Sleek. He said the lawyers acts and decisions "rose to the level of malpractice."
