Lady Gaga Strikes Back Against Fusari

Lady Gaga is no slouch when it comes to defending herself. Following on from my previous post about a $30 million lawsuit against her on Wednesday, news  is that Lady Gaga returned fire in the Supreme Court of New York against Fusari seeking declaratory relief. She asks the court to declare that her agreement with him is "void and unenforceable" and order the defendants to repay the moneys already paid to them.

Her suit is based on the New Jersey Employment Agency Act, the New York General Business Law (section 170) and the New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law. These statutes, she claims, protect "employees (including inexperienced performing artists) from predatory and financially abusive practices by employment agencies in securing employment opportunities for employees."

Gaga claims that Fusari induced her to enter into an unlawful agreement to pay him 20% of her earnings from her first 4 albums. She was also required to use and pay Fusari to be her producer. Fusari was to be paid royalties whether or not recordings produced by him were on her albums.

If the court were to hold that the agreement is valid, she asks it to rule that Fusari is not entitled to any further sums.

This should get interesting if it actually gets to trial. I suspect that the case will be settled, much to the loss of contract law professors! Stay tuned for more!