Marques Houston Accused of Stiffing TV Show Crew, Sued Over $85k Allegedly Owed
Jun. 23 2023, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
Marques Houston has been slapped with a lawsuit accusing him of stiffing the crew of a TV show he produced and refusing to return their calls, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Marques, record exec Christopher Stokes, Footage Films, and UrbanFlix TV are being sued by 5 individuals for breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, failure to pay timely wages, and unfair and unlawful business practices.
The suit was brought by Orville Allen, September Burks, Jamilla Cagnolatti, Shanya Steave, and Jaden Jackson.
Marcus and Christopher are creators of a TV called Fosters Law that airs on a streaming service called UrbanFlix.
The plaintiffs claim they are bringing the lawsuit for unpaid services rendered and costs incurred in connection with their roles and services on the show.
The suit accuses the defendants of failing to pay wages owed. “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 said Allen agreed to work for an hourly rate of $70 for 10 hours. He worked 16 days with 13.5 hours of overtime. He claims to be owed $35k for his work.
Burks said they were hired to work at the daily rate of $250 for 18 days. She demands $15k in damages.
Cagnolatti said they were owed $10k. Jackson said they were to be paid $200 per day and worked for weeks. He says he is owed $15k.
Steave said she worked for a week and is owed $10k for her work.
The suit said the Plaintiffs “persistently” attempted to contact Marques and Chris to “resolve the nonpayment of funds which they were due.” 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 suit demands unspecified damages.