PHILADELPHIA – The estate and widow of Leonard Hubbard, late bassist for The Roots, has dropped a multi-count complaint for injunctive relief and damages under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which had charged Hubbard’s former bandmates in The Roots and numerous other parties with defrauding him of millions of dollars over the past 10 years.
The Estate of Leonard Hubbard, decedent and Stephanie Hubbard, beneficiary of the Estate filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on March 23 versus Shawn Gee, Ahmir Thompson, Tarik Trotter, Legendelphia Music, LLC, Okay Tours, LLC, Grand Wizards, LLC, Blueprint Artists Management, LLC, Grand Negaz, Inc., Munir Huriddin and The Roots On Tour, Inc. all of Conshohocken, Truer Notes, Inc. of Philadelphia, Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. of Philadelphia and Beverly Hills, Calif. and Okay Player Records, LLC of Cheltenham.
According to the lawsuit, Thompson (a.k.a. “Questlove”), Trotter (a.k.a. “Black Thought”), Gee (manager for The Roots), Nuriddin and companies which oversee touring for The Roots collectively violated the RICO Act, by denying Hubbard his earnings from the band since 2013.
The suit claimed that when The Roots were founded in 1993, decedent Hubbard, along with another founding member of The Roots, Malik B., were each provided a 17 percent stake in Grand Negaz, Inc., a corporate vessel used for trademark and business purposes.
Additionally, Hubbard was also given a 25 percent piece of a company tasked with the group’s recording and publishing rights, and a 33 percent piece of the company which handled its tours.
After performing as a part of The Roots for over a decade, Hubbard left the group in 2007 after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer.
During his 15 year-tenure with The Roots, Hubbard recorded seven studio albums and was nominated for Grammy awards. Hubbard would win a Grammy in 2000 for “Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group, for “You Got Me” by The Roots, along with Erykah Badu and Eve.
Hubbard died in 2021.
The suit claimed that beginning in March 2013, Gee, Thompson and Trotter entered into contracts and opened bank accounts to deposit money from its business, recording and touring companies by “falsely purporting to represent all stakeholders”, when it was not representing Hubbard.
At the same time, it charged the other three members of The Roots with forming Legendelphia Music, LLC, a new company controlled exclusively by the trio, using funds from Grand Negaz, Inc., which Hubbard would have been entitled to a percentage of.
Hubbard’s widow wanted a full accounting and restitution for her late husband’s estate from his former bandmates and their associated corporate entities.
UPDATE
On June 22, the plaintiffs filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of the case with prejudice, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i) – which states a plaintiff may dismiss an action in such a fashion, if the defendant has not yet provided an answer to the case or a motion for summary judgment.
It was not noted if a settlement had been reached in the case.
Prior to dismissal and for multiple counts of violating the RICO Act, federal and state law claims of trademark infringement, tortious interference with inheritance rights, the plaintiffs were seeking the following relief:
• A temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction;
• A declaratory judgment finding defendants’ past violations “were part of a pattern, deliberate in nature and defendants’ businesses will present a reasonable likelihood of opportunities to violate the law in the future”;
• A cease-and-desist order to prevent the defendants from violating 18 U.S.C. Section 1964;
• An inspection of all records pertaining to plaintiff-decedent and the estate of decedent, possessed by the RICO Enterprises SEFG, Blueprint Artists Management, Live Nation Entertainment, Universal Music Publishing Group, SoundExchange, NBC Studios, LLC, Roots on Tour, Inc. and Truer Notes, LLC;
• Restitution and reasonable interest thereon;
• Attorney’s fees and costs;
• An order that the defendants stop using “The Roots” trademark until a determination is made regarding brand value.
• An order to freeze all articles and other items with the trademark “The Roots” until a determination is made regarding value of the articles and items;
• An order mandating an accounting to be done by RICO defendants and inspection by the plaintiffs of all ledgers, bank statements and other forms of transaction records maintained by the RICO defendants from 2013 until the present;
• Damages in an amount to be determined at trial, the costs of the action and whatever other relief the Court may deem just and proper;
• Treble damages, costs and attorneys’ fees from RICO defendants, as well as any other relief authorized by statute.
The plaintiffs were represented by Harold E. Lucas of Lucas Law Group, in Raleigh, N.C.
The defendants did not obtain legal counsel.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:23-cv-01122
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com