Marques Houston Demands Lawsuit Accusing Him of Stiffing TV Show Crew Out of $85k Be Thrown Out
Oct. 19 2023, Published 5:00 a.m. ET
Marques Houston has fired back at the lawsuit accusing him and his business partners of failing to pay the crew for a TV show they produced.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Houston, record exec Chris Stokes and Footage Films TV Inc. denied all allegations in the suit brought by 5 crew members.
As we first reported, the 5 individuals accused the defendants of breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, failure to pay timely wages, and unfair and unlawful business practices.
Orville Allen, September Burks, Jamilla Cagnolatti, Shanya Steave, and Jaden Jackson were the crew members who brought the suit.
In the complaint, the plaintiffs explained Houston and Stokes were the creators of a show called Fosters Law that aired on a streaming service called UrbanFlix.
The crew said the defendants failed to pay wages owed for work done on the show.
“Although each Plaintiff completed the services contemplated by the contract or substantially performed until termination by Footage Films, Defendants have still not paid any of the Plaintiffs for any of the services completed towards the production,” the suit read.
One crew member claimed to be owed $35k for their work, another said she was owed $15k, a third member said they had yet to be paid $10k for their work and the final two plaintiffs said they were owed $10k and $15k.
The suit said the Plaintiffs “persistently” attempted to contact Houston and Stoke to resolve the payment issue.
However, the suit said, “on multiple occasions, the Defendants would fail to respond to text and phone communications for months on end, all of which Plaintiffs experienced substantial financial hardship dealing with the unexpected drop in income in their respective business and personal lives.”
The crew’s lawsuit demanded unspecified damages.
Now, Houston and Stokes are demanding the entire case be thrown out of court.
The two argued that if the crew members did sustain any damage as a result of the conduct alleged, then they are entitled to money from the crew for any overpayments or damages they may have caused to Houston and Stokes.
“The Complaint and all purported causes of action therein are barred because any alleged obligations were obtained by fraudulent representations by Plaintiffs,” the duo argued before adding. “Defendants are not legally responsible in any way or fashion with respect to the damages and injuries claimed by Plaintiffs.”
Houston and Stokes are asking the court to not award the crew a dime and order the plaintiffs to cover their legal fees in the case.