Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Leonard Cohen Sues His Business Manager

According to billboard.com, Leonard Cohen is having some trouble with his business manager:

Leonard Cohen sued his longtime business manager yesterday (Aug. 15) for allegedly defrauding the famed singer/songwriter of at least $5 million.

The complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court seeks damages for alleged breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, common law fraud, professional negligence and other claims against Kelley Lynch. Tax lawyer Richard Westin was also named as a defendant for allegedly mismanaging Cohen's retirement funds.

..."This civil action is another case of a tragedy that has become all too familiar in the music industry -- a business manager and professional advisers exploit an immensely talented artist's loyalty and trust through greed, self-dealing, concealment, knowing misrepresentation and reckless disregard for professional fiduciary duties," according to the complaint filed by plaintiff's attorney Scott Edelman.

According to the suit, Lynch was Cohen's business manager for about 17 years until he fired her in October for allegedly taking money out of his personal and investment accounts. It was alleged that the amounts taken were far in excess of the 15% management compensation that Lynch was entitled to receive.

The fraud allegedly started while Cohen was taking time away from his career to focus on his spiritual life at the Mount Baldy Zen Center in Los Angeles.
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Which just goes to show you that attending the spiritual side of life is always a mistake, especially for rich people.

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