(VIP-NEWS) — A dispute between Grammy-nominated artist Kem and his former manager, Toya Hankins, underscores the importance of formal, documented management agreements.
Hankins, who stopped managing Kem (real name Kim Lamont Owens) in 2016, is now claiming she’s still owed commissions on his income. This claim depends on whether their original written agreement from 2003, or a potential oral agreement from 2005, remains valid.
The legal battle centers on “sunset clauses,” which allow managers to continue receiving commissions after their professional relationship with an artist has ended.
Hankins sued Owens in 2022, asserting her right to these payments, though Owens countered in a recent filing, calling her lawsuit a “bad faith and misguided attempt” to claim commissions long after their relationship ended.
The conflict focuses on whether a 2003 written agreement, which included a sunset clause entitling Hankins to a declining commission over two years post-termination, is still in effect.
Owens contends he formally terminated this agreement in 2005. Following that, the two allegedly continued working under an oral arrangement that did not include a sunset clause.
Hankins, however, claims that while the 2003 contract was initially terminated in 2005, the termination was later rescinded, meaning the original agreement, with its sunset clause, remained active.
When they stopped working together in 2016, Hankins argues that this contract was not terminated in writing, leaving her entitled to her original 20% commission.
Owens asserts that even if the 2003 agreement was still active when they parted ways in 2016, his lawyer effectively ended the agreement in 2017 through written correspondence with Hankins’ representatives. Based on this termination, he argues that any commission payments due under the sunset clause would have expired by May 2019. Consequently, Owens is seeking a summary judgment to prevent Hankins from claiming any commissions beyond that date.
