Hot Off Tha Press-Bones versus Ruthless

[whoopitywhoop]

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony have been sued by Comptown Records (doing
business as Ruthless Records) on Wednesday (July 25) for breach
of contract, fraud, and damages under the same labor code (2855)
that Courtney Love and others have brought to court over the
seven-year contract rule.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that the
label is not challenging the California Labor Code 2855, which
gives employees the right to "decline to render services
pursuant to a personal services contract beyond a period of
seven years from the commencement of services under such
contract."

However, Comptown is taking issue with "the disingenuous and
self-serving attempt of defendants to withdraw from valid,
enforceable and binding commitments that they freely made, and
from which they have profited handsomely and, in fact, have been
unjustly enriched at Comptown's expense, under the guise of
purporting to invoke their rights under Section 2855 of the
California Labor Code in connection with contracts as to which
seven years have not elapsed since the commencement of services
thereunder," explains the suit.

The label is looking to "enforce its own rights under the
statute to recover monetary damages sufficient to compensate"
the label for its loss of revenues that it would have received
from each of the albums that Bone promised, but failed to
deliver, before the group informed the label that it didn't
intend to record for it any further, according to the lawsuit.
In addition to damages under Labor Code Section 2855, Comptown
is seeking declaratory relief, injunctive relieve, and
restitution.

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's attorney, Jeff Kempler, could not be
reached for comment at press time. The band's last album, The
Collection, Volume Two, was released on Ruthless/Epic Records in
November 2000; Epic is not named as a defendant or plaintiff in
the suit.