Posted August 24, 20213 yr The latest legal dramas... A judge postponed a music lawyer's bid to toss a breach of contract suit filed by a former client, Keisha Buchanan, after the Sugababes girl band member said Monday that she needed to summon testimony from her former legal advisers. High Court Deputy Master Jonathan Arkush, sitting on behalf of Master Julia Clark, made the decision to adjourn the summary judgment hearing after hearing from counsel for the defendants that they didn't want to risk an appeal over the last-minute request for witness testimony. "Their preference is that I should not do so in case it lends another potential string to the bow of the claimant or perhaps, more bluntly, give a possible avenue of appeal that she may not have," Deputy Master Arkush said. "Their position is if the matter has to be adjourned, so be it." Buchanan claims that attorney Sarah Stennett and music law firm Spraggon Stennett Brabyn held conflicts of interest when representing the '90s girl group that violated their fiduciary duties to the group, the singer's lawyer told the court. Gareth Reeds of Canary Wharf Law, representing Buchanan, said on Monday that a court "error" prevented the summons from being properly served. Reeds said the summary judgment application suggests that Buchanan's lawsuit should be dismissed because she had independent legal advisers who knew about the deals and agreements being made by Stennett and the law firm on her behalf. One of those former legal advisers to Buchanan, Adam Barker, is now the director of the TurnFirst Ltd. record label, a defendant in the case, Reeds noted. Barker was not represented in court on Monday. Henry Bankes-Jones of Hailsham Chambers, representing Stennett and the law firm, told the court that his clients' application was filed back in April, so Buchanan had plenty of time to gather any evidence she needed to support her case. "To say at this late stage that it only just occurred that she needed to summon all sorts of former legal advisers … it lacks credibility," Bankes-Jones said. "I don't see what they're going to add to this given the premise of the application, which is we were not her legal advisers." However, Bankes-Jones said, he would be reluctant for any decision on his clients' strike-out or the summary judgment application to proceed, "with the claimant contending she was not allowed the evidence she says she required." Among allegations Buchanan has made in her November lawsuit is that Stennett had a financial interest in Xenomania Songs, which produced some of the band's albums, according to Reeds. He said Buchanan also claims that documents dating back to 2000, two years after the band was founded, have been concealed from her, which would affect the statute of limitations on her claims. The Sugababes announced earlier this year that they would release a 20th anniversary issue of their debut album, "One Touch," according to press reports. Stennett and Spraggon Stennett Brabyn Partnership are represented by Henry Bankes-Jones of Hailsham Chambers, instructed by DWF LLP Buchanan is represented by Gareth Reeds of Canary Wharf Law, instructed by the claimant. TurnFirst Limited is represented by Lee & Thompson LLP; additional counsel information was not available Monday. Xenomania Songs Ltd. is represented by Jamie Muir Wood of Hogarth Chambers, instructed by Trainer Shepherd Phillips Melin Haynes LLP. The case is Buchanan v. Stennett and others, case number BL-2020-002074, in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. https://www.law360.com/articles/1415199/uk-...-contract-fight
August 24, 20213 yr V interesting. This is seperate to the case against Crown so I wonder how many cases our queen is currently actively pursuing
August 24, 20213 yr Author Very interesting! Sarah's actually married to George Astasio from The Invisible Men - Easy, Good To Be Gone, Denial, etc. - and one of their members - Jon Shave - formerly worked for Xenomania. Shady stuff.
