Concert promoter says singer was paid in advance to appear at Seattle-area party.By Jayson Rodriguez
Ne-YoPhoto: Michael Loccisano/ Getty Images
Grammy-nominated R&B singer Ne-Yo has is being sued for $500,000 by a Washington state promotion company for failing to appear at a New Year's Eve gig he was booked for, according to the Maryland Daily Record.
The singer was reportedly scheduled to appear at Bellevue's Meydenbauer Center, outside of Seattle, and was paid a fee up-front of $95,000. According to the lawsuit, however, Ne-Yo never showed up. Booking agent Mike Esterman was also named in the lawsuit, which was filed in Maryland, where Esterman's company is based. Esterman is being sued for $1 million in damages for not ensuring Ne-Yo's appearance and for allegedly failing to return the fees paid by the plaintiff in the case, Wet Entertainment.
Esterman told MTV News on Wednesday that the lawsuit is without merit.
"I still don't know anything about the details," he said. "All that I know is that this is a frivolous lawsuit. The guy is looking for a free payday. The promoter is looking for a lottery ticket to make some big money off of a big name."
According to the lawsuit, Kenyohn Clark of Wet Entertainment and Esterman reached an agreement to book the singer for a fee of $140,000. An attorney for Clark states in the suit that Wet Entertainment also booked travel and lodging arraignments for Ne-Yo, in addition to securing space for an afterparty. The Daily Record reports that 1,500 tickets had been sold for the event, with prices ranging from $125 to $1,275.
Clark is seeking damages to cover his expenses, as well as compensation for "reputations in the music industry and entertainment community [that] have been damaged" due to the incident.
Representatives for Ne-Yo have not responded to inquiries made by MTV News.
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