Blackground Records and Toni Braxton Settle Suit

LOS ANGELES, CA. (Top40 Charts/ Blackground Records) - Blackground Records LLC and Barry Hankerson announced today that they had reached a settlement with Toni Braxton in her lawsuit against them. According to Blackground Records attorneys Rickey Ivie and Samuel E. Chilakos, the settlement requires Braxton to return to Blackground Records a $375,000 advance she received on December 27, 2006, and further provides for compensating Blackground Records by paying to it a percentage of the net sales of Braxton's next album. This settles in case no. 07/101323 filed in the County of New York.

Blackground Records released Toni Braxton from her recording contract on January 10 of this year. Braxton immediately retaliated with a lawsuit filed in federal court. Braxton dismissed the federal lawsuit in response to an order of the Court advising her of its intention to dismiss the case unless she provided further justification of its basis. Braxton filed another lawsuit in New York State the same day, which attorneys for Blackground Records deemed to be absolutely devoid of any merit.

When Barry Hankerson began working with Toni Braxton in 1997, he loaned her a substantial amount of money to assist her in dealing with a much publicized bankruptcy. As her manager, he negotiated a contract on her behalf with Arista Records that paid her an advance of $23,000,000. However, after only two albums, Arista released her from her contract. At Braxton's behest, Hankerson signed Braxton to Blackground Records, where she released only one of the three albums she committed to.