Sugarland Settles Suit With Ex-Member Kristen Hall
If you follow country music at all, you may have been wondering for the last several years, what the heck happened to Kristen Hall? Recall please, that the now famous country duo Sugarland started out as a trio, comprised of lead singer Jennifer Nettles, Kristian Bush and Hall. The duo is doing quite well, thank you, netting the Country Music Association Vocal Duo of the Year award last week and winning Grammies for best performance by a group or duo and best country song last year.
So what happened to Kristen Hall? Did she go gently into that good night of solo songwriting and performing? Not quite, reports CNN. Hall left in 2005, sending a reminder of her existence to her former band mates two years ago, when she filed a lawsuit seeking her share of the profits from the group, based on her part in founding the group and writing for their debut album.
The disagreement between the band mates was bitter enough to make some old-timers remember the pleasantries between Lennon and McCartney, based on some facts from the suit, reports the Philadelphia Daily News. Same behind-the-music story, founder breaks back and credit rating doing marketing, songwriting, promotion, tour management and vocals for the ungrateful rest of the band. And, as always, Hall must have been too busy to get an agreement in writing, because Nettles and Bush countered that there was no profit agreement with Hall and they were left holding the bag for almost $100,000 in debts after she left the building.
The settlement between Kristen Hall, Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush was reached on Friday, November 12, and approved by U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten. Gosh darn it though, the terms are being kept private. The sugar on top of this story? One, going solo ain't always what it's cracked up to be and two, get it in writing. We now return you to regular programming ...
Related Resources:
- Sugarland Settles Lawsuit With Ex-Founding Member (New York Times)
- Contract Negotiation and Writing Tips (FindLaw)
- Entertainment Law (FindLaw's LawBrain)
- Dixie Chick Gets Some Scratch: Judge Orders Singer's Costs Paid (FindLaw's Celebrity Justice)
