US singer Toni Braxton has settled a multimillion dollar lawsuit with her former manager, although there is some confusion regarding what has been agreed.
Braxton began legal proceedings last month claiming that her former manager, Barry Hankerson, had used "fraud, deception and double dealing" in order to ruin her relationship with BMG's Arista Records, so that she would instead sign to Hankerson's own label Blackground Records, which she subsequently did. Braxton wanted out of her contract with Blackground, as well as compensation for Hankerson's failure to protect her interests as an artist. Hankerson, however, disputed Braxton's claims, and was reportedly demanding a $1 million payment in order to let the singer out of her contractual obligations to his label.
Braxton's representative, Michael Sitrick, yesterday confirmed the singer had reached an out of court settlement with Hankerson, which will allow her to work with other labels, providing she returns a $375,000 advance that she had received from Blackground. Sitrick claimed the agreement was a good deal for Braxton because Hankerson had previously demanded a million dollars to let her out of her commitments, and even then with conditions regarding what companies she could subsequently work with.
However, Hankerson's attorney Samuel Chilakos denied yesterday that Hankerson had ever demanded the $1 million figure, and also claimed that the deal that had been reached also included some restrictions on what companies Braxton could work with in the future. Chilakos also says that Hankerson will receive a cut of royalties from Braxton's next album as part of the deal.