The Grammy-winning R&B artist Ne-Yo could feel a few dollars lighter after losing a lawsuit filed against him by a concert promoter in suburban Seattle.
Ne-Yo, who was sued under his real name, Shaffer C. Smith, failed to show up for a New Year’s Eve gig in 2008 and cost the stranded promoter about a quarter of a million dollars, the plaintiff’s lawyer said Wednesday, a day after a judge in Annapolis found Ne-Yo and his booking agent liable for part of the loss.
Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Philip T. Caroom ordered Ne-Yo and the booking agency, Esterman Entertainment, to pay $131,629 in compensatory damages and other costs to the event’s promoter, Kenyohn Clark. The judge also ordered the agency’s owner, Mike Esterman, to pay an additional $24,450 in punitive damages to Clark, a decorated 30-year-old Army veteran of the Iraq war who had booked USO tours while in the service.
Brian D. Lyman, an attorney in Annapolis who represents Esterman and his booking company, said Wednesday that his client was “weighing his options” and determining whether a settlement could be reached before he proceeds to file an appeal. Esterman, who describes himself on his website as “agent to the stars,” claims as clients Antonio Sabato Jr., Carmen Electra, Corey Feldman, Danny Bonaduce, LL Cool J and several hip-hop DJs, among other