Cassadee Pope, frontwoman for the West Palm Beach pop-punk act Hey Monday, is the target of a $50 million civil lawsuit filed by Plantation-based Driven Entertainment Group.
Driven CEO Dominick Centi and his wife, Tammy, filed the breach-of-contract suit in Broward Circuit Court on Friday, claiming that the 21-year-old singer turned her back on their professional relationship when she began receiving attention from one of Sony's record labels in 2007.
Following that, Pope's band with Hey Monday guitarist Mike Gentile,
Blake, broke up. The remaining members of Blake formed area synth-punk
band New City Lions.
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The Centis contend that they laid the groundwork for Pope's eventual
major-label signing, which subsequently led to placements on the Warped Tour, shows opening for
Fall Out Boy, and TV song placements when they signed her in 2002 and
spent the next five years nurturing her career.
Sony Music Entertainment and Columbia Records, also named in the suit,
bear the brunt of the blame, according to the Centis. Pope's lawyer
notes that Pope's contract was terminated for cause.
As we learn more about the suit, we will update this post.
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