JAY-Z HEADING BACK TO COURT OVER SPORTS CLUB FRANCHISE
Rap superstar JAY-Z is facing a return to court later this month (Mar11) after failing to reach a settlement with baseball player DAVID ORTIZ over the name of the sportsman’s nightclub in the Dominican Republic.
The 99 Problems hitmaker and his business partner Juan Perez took issue with the name of the Boston Red Sox star’s hotspot, Forty/Forty club, in April 2010, claiming it infringed upon their chain of 40/40 sports bars.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged Ortiz had been a patron at their New York club on "several occasions" before opening his own bar in his native country.
The two parties agreed to put an end to the legal dispute last summer (10), with Ortiz reportedly agreeing to rename his venue and pull down its promotional website FortyForty.net.
But, after months of settlement discussions, the talks regarding compensation have stalled - Ortiz’s business manager, Mark Walker, claims Jay-Z is demanding "way too much", according to the New York Post.
Lawyers for the stars appeared in Manhattan federal court on Monday (28Feb11), when Judge Richard Berman declared it was clear the representatives for both parties "do not have the authority to settle" the dispute.
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
