Backstreet Boys Vs. Pearlman

The Backstreet Boys are suing former manager Lou Pearlman again over some unfinished business going back to when the group was released from its contract in 1998.

The lawsuit, filed in Orange County, Fla., claims Pearlman didn’t dissolve all the group’s business entities and used that money to start up other companies in the Backstreet Boys name, according to reports.

The suit also claims Pearlman didn’t follow through on financial settlements with the Boys’ former managers, Jeanne Tanzy Williams and Sybil Galler Hall, and former group members Sam Licata and Charles Edwards. As a result, the group was left open to legal action filed by those parties. Those disputes were settled in 2004.

The Boys’ suit reportedly alleges abuse of corporate privilege and fraud, among other things, and seeks an unspecified amount of damages from Pearlman and his record label, Trans Continental Records.

The Orlando Sentinel quoted Pearlman saying he thought the group was seeking about $500,000. He called the suit “frivolous” but downplayed its financial significance.

“If it costs me a half million dollars, it doesn’t really bother me,” he said. “When you have millions of dollars, the lawyers are always coming after you.”

Pearlman also told the paper that although he didn’t do anything wrong, he would be willing to pay up if a review of the contracts and paperwork backed the singers’ claims.