Former Manager of|’Birthday Sex’ Star Sues

CHICAGO (CN) - Years after he helped "Birthday Sex" top the charts, Jeremih's former manager has filed a $200,000 action for allegedly unpaid fees.

Jeremih, whose latest single "Don't Tell 'Em" peaked this year at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, is not named as a defendant to the action filed Tuesday in Cook County Court.

His debut hit "Birthday Sex" did a bit better back in 2009, reaching No. 4 on the same chart.

In their complaint, Luis Duran and his company Go Management Inc. attribute the R&B song's success to their often uncompensated promotional work, "traveling and contacting radio stations" about "Birthday Sex."

Duran claims to have met with Jeremih's producer, Steven Schultz, at the restaurant Harry Caray's in January 2009, where he hammered out a deal that gave Go a 15 percent management commission.

Daniel Friedman, an attorney for Shultz and his employer Mick Schultz Productions, allegedly "never prepared the written agreement that he had agree to provide at the Harry Caray's meeting."

"Duran inquired of Friedman as to the whereabouts of the written agreement, and also of the napkins on which Friedman had written at the meeting, but Friedman made no substantive response and never again produced the napkins," the complaint states.

Duran says Schultz assured him that his word was "as good as gold."

This promise fell apart last year, however, when Jeremih, whose real name is Jeremy Phillip Felton, dumped Duran for P. Diddy, according to the complaint.

"On or about May 28, 2013, Mick Schultz called Duran and told him that 'he' was 'letting you [Duran/Go] go,'" the complaint states (brackets in original). "Duran understood this to be Mick Schultz orally terminating the Go-Mick Schultz/MSP oral management agreement."

Friedman allegedly told Duran that he would figure out what was still owed, but never did.

Duran says the attorney did not tell him that he had a duty to withdraw from representing all parties since they were now at odds.

Instead, Friedman "just went right on representing the Schultzes/MSP," the complaint states.

Duran says that Mick Schultz Productions owes him $168,000 in management fees relating to Jeremih's third album, and other projects involving artists Downtown Drive, SoMo, and Zendaya.

Neither these artists nor P. Diddy are named as defendants.

Duran also demands $46,000 in unreimbursed expenses.

MSP has a very different explanation of what happened. It sued Duran for breach of contract in April, claiming that Duran failed to live up to his contractual obligations because he got a full-time job with Sony.

Duran seeks damages for breach of contract, fraudulent inducement, fraudulent concealment, conversion, and professional negligence.

He is represented by Richard Hellerman.

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