Taylor Swift Being Sued by Ex-Manager

Way back when the nation hardly knew then-14-year-old Taylor Swift in 2004, she was managed by music manager Dan Dymtrow. Now, six years later, Dymtrow is suing Swift, claiming the terms of his agreement with her were not met.
 
Dymtrow says he played an integral role in the launch of Swift’s career before promptly being dropped in July 2005 when Swift signed with Big Machine Records.  He said that his deals with Swift and her parents outlined that he be paid between five and 10 percent commission. Allegedly, after Dymtrow introduced the Swifts to high rollers in the entertainment industry, such as Big Machine CEO Scott Borchetta, Dymtrow asserts he was exploited by the Swifts and then timely fired in order to avoid being paid.
 
"They delayed and delayed [the deal] and got rid of my client and subsequently signed the deal and kept his commissions for themselves," Dymtrow’s attorney Fernando Pinguelo said.
 
In reply to Dymtrow’s claim, the Swifts stated that Taylor, who was then a minor, legally renounced the deal in 2005. Dymtrow was let go upon the knowledge of his failure to obtain the required court approval of his management contract. This all occurred several months before Taylor signed with Big Machine and a complete year before the debut release of her single, “Tim McGraw.”
 
"For him to claim that her success and her major contracts were procured by him is ludicrous," said Swift's lawyer, Paul LiCalsi of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp.
 
The Dymtrow vs. Swift battle has been going on quietly since 2007. Then, Dymtrow sued the Swifts, claiming they had breached a management contract by paying only $10,000 for the initiation of Taylor’s career. U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan shot down six of Dymtrow’s claims in March against the Swifts and Big Machine.
 
On Oct. 6, both sides presented a joint letter to the court seeking documents in hopes of verifying their cases once and for all. In the letter, Pinguelo says that Dymtrow was a victim of conspiracy between Taylor's father and Borchetta to fire him. To prove this, Pinguelo references an e-mail from August 2006 from Mr. Swift to Borchetta implying how the two agreed to let Dymtrow go: “Enough with the Dymtrow,” Mr. Swift supposedly wrote. “You asked me to break both his legs, wrap him in chains and throw him in the lake. I did.”
 
Dymtrow also argues that the e-mail proposes Taylor Swift’s termination of her contract to avoid paying him for the work he had done and relationships he initiated that would not have occurred without his assistance. He is also wanting access to documents he claims will show his connection to Swift’s world-wide success and multiplatinum record sales.
 
"Mr. Dymtrow seeks to prove that key deal points that were being discussed during his tenure were, in sum and substance, consistent with the points that were further negotiated and signed after his term as a manager," the letter said.
 
Another claim of Dymtrow’s is that he introduced Swift to agents at Creative Artists Agency, the business that ended up representing her and booking concerts. Thus, Dymtrow believes he is entitled to commissions from that relationship. LiCalsi, however, refuted that charge.
 
“"To say that is worth millions is just the height of overreaching," LiCalsi said.
 
A date is yet to be set for the trial.
 
Source: Yahoo! News