VP Records Says Mr. Vegas Using “Pressure Tactics” In Lawsuit As Settlement Talks Continue

VP Records is urging a New York court to grant its request to stay Mr. Vegas’ recent motion for an injunction against them, court records obtained by DancehallMag reveal.  The Reggae label argues that the Dancehall star’s attempt to force it to place monies, from the ongoing sales of the disputed songs in the lawsuit, into an escrow account pending the outcome, is merely a “pressure tactic” employed just as settlement talks have recommenced.

The lawsuit, originally filed in November 2020, accuses VP of copyright infringement and breach of contract, among other things, and it involves Mr. Vegas’ hit songs Heads High (1997) and its Kill ‘Em Wid it Re-mix (1998), Sucky Ducky (1998), Hot Wuk (2006), and Gallis (2009).  It also involves four songs from Sean Paul’s debut album Stage One (2000), namely Haffi Get De Gal Ya (Hot Gal Today), Tiger Bone, and the skit Nicky, all of which featured Mr. Vegas; and Check It Deeply, which was produced by Mr. Vegas.

In a court filing on Monday (July 25), VP noted that the songs are between one to two decades old and argued that Vegas’ call for the injunction was an “obvious pressure tactic that does not foster” the ongoing settlement talks between the two parties.

In a July 19 letter motion to the court, Mr. Vegas, through his attorney, had claimed that he is “harmed by VP Records continuing to exploit his music, image and likeness” and that VP should be prohibited from their “continued collection of royalties on Vegas’ work while the case winds its way through the legal system”.

However, VP countered that the July 19 letter was filed one hour prior to the start of a settlement conference, which was held before the mediator, Magistrate Judge Marcia M. Henry.

Court records show that the Plaintiff (Mr. Vegas) and the Defendants (VP Records’ CEO Chris Chin, President Randy Chin, senior reps Donald Stewart and John McQueeney, and two others), all appeared via video for the conference which lasted just under three hours.

“The parties did not reach a settlement; however, the parties expressed a willingness to continue negotiations,” the records noted of that meeting.

VP has asked that judge Pamela K. Chen defer her consideration of Vegas’ motion for an injunction, until after the next settlement conference is held on September 7, 2022, so as to “preserve judicial resources as well as the resources of the parties.”

In June 2022, DancehallMag reported that the prior settlement efforts had failed, but that the parties had agreed to another round of mediation in an attempt to resolve the dispute before it moves toward a jury trial.

According to the lawsuit, the first point of contention is whether VP Records is responsible for an alleged breach of a contract that was signed between Greensleeves Records and Mr. Vegas. Under that contract, Heads High and its remix appeared on Vegas’ 20-track Heads High album, which was released via Greensleeves in 1998.

Greensleeves was later acquired by VP Records in 2008.

In his complaint, Vegas alleged that prior to the acquisition, Greensleeves paid and accounted for the royalties for the two versions of Heads High. “However since the Acquisition, the Greensleeves’ royalty statements no longer include royalties for the Records,” the complaint noted.

Naturally, VP has contended that they were not a party to that contract. They have also noted that Greensleeves Records was not named as a Defendant in Vegas’ lawsuit even though that company still exists.

In addition to the breach of contract, Vegas has also accused VP of infringing on his Heads High copyright, as well as his copyright for the Heads High video.

Mr. Vegas also contends that VP infringed on his copyrights when it included Heads High, Hot Gyal Today, and/or Gallis on several compilation albums.

With regards to Gallis, Sucky Ducky, and Hot Wuk, Mr. Vegas has also alleged that the label infringed on his copyright and also breached the contract when it “held itself out as acting as a fiduciary” of Vegas for the collection of royalties on those songs, based on a “purported extension of the assigned contract.”

He has also claimed that the company “breached their duty” to him “by fraudulently concealing and/or converting” the royalties for the three songs.

Mr. Vegas has also alleged that VP, which released Sean Paul’s Stage One album in partnership with Universal, had infringed on his copyright when they supposedly failed to obtain his permission to use “his composition, production, performance, brand, sound or likeness” in the four songs that he contributed to on the album. He also claimed that he has never received royalties for his contributions to the 25-track album, which, according to the complaint, has sold over 500,000 records.