Summer Walker Sues Label and Management for Fraud

Summer Walker, long unhappy with her record deal, has become embroiled in a series of legal disputes with her labels, LVRN and Interscope. The former, which also operates as her management firm, is the subject of a lawsuit from Walker alleging fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract, Rolling Stone reports. As Walker tries to escape that deal, Universal-owned major Interscope is preemptively suing her for more than $50 million in damages should she leave before fulfilling her five-album contract.

Walker signed with LVRN and Interscope in 2017, when they operated as a joint venture. She has since released three albums, including last year’s Finally Over It, which topped the Billboard 200. In her lawsuit against LVRN, filed in Atlanta in August, Walker alleges the firm fraudulently hid money from her by running a YouTube page in her name and selling merch that used her name and likeness—both without informing or paying her. She claims that, before eventually handing the YouTube page to Walker, LVRN deleted its historical data and never paid her the associated revenue. She also argues LVRN failed in its legal duty to act in her best interests and improperly took money from her budgets, including for excessive company expenses.

Walker expressed her intent to exit her contentious record deal in August, invoking California’s “seven-year rule”—a law preventing the enforcement of contracts against employees after seven years. (Its application in music has been contested, with no clear precedent one way or another for record contracts; since a 1987 amendment, labels have been allowed to seek damages from artists leaving contracts before fulfilling their quota.) In response, Interscope claimed in a lawsuit filed in California that it is “entitled to recover damages in excess of $50,000,000.”

An Interscope representative told RS, “While we remain hopeful that our ongoing discussions will lead to an amicable resolution, the statutory deadline makes it necessary to file suit in order to preserve the terms of our contract. We have great respect for Summer and her music and would welcome the opportunity to continue our successful partnership.”

While Walker is seeking damages from LVRN, her primary goal is to void her contract, her lawyer told RS. Pitchfork has emailed LVRN for comment.