Rapper Tramar “Flo Rida” Dillard is going to court, arguing that an energy drink company owes him money for an endorsement deal. You can watch this civil trial in the player above.
He is seeking at least $30,000 in damages in this breach of contract lawsuit aimed at Celsius brand energy drinks. Dillard claimed they failed to pay him what they owed him, and the relationship was highly beneficial to the energy drink company.
“By way of background, Flo Rida maintained a successful endorsement partnership with Celsius which was highly effective in opening new doors for Celsius and its products,” the plaintiffs wrote. They maintained they had a deal, including him getting paid for reaching certain performance benchmarks.
“In contemplation of the highly influential and ongoing impact of this endorsement partnership with Celsius, the compensation obligations to Plaintiffs included bonus compensation, incentive compensation, and royalties,” the lawsuit states. “While certain guaranteed payments were payable at contract inception, others became due from Celsius later at various specified intervals or upon reaching certain benchmarks and continuing thereafter.”
Celsius denied allegations. Among other defenses, they maintained that the statute of limitations ran out, said that they already paid Flo Rida “far in excess of what he is entitled to,” and that he should have brought the claim sooner. They filed a countersuit, seeking money back.
“The first agreement was executed in March of 2014, and Plaintiffs made no pursuit of the allegations herein until seven years later,” they said.
The agreement ended in March 2016.
“For over five years the Plaintiffs failed to take material action when Plaintiffs should have,” they said.
[Image: mpi04/MediaPunch /IPX via AP]