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Ruben Gets Justice to Tune of $2 Million
American Idol winner Ruben Studdard has once again come out on top.
An Alabama court awarded Idol's season-two champ $2 million in a lawsuit the singer brought against his former manager last year, accusing him of misusing more than $200,000 of Studdard's money.
Studdard, 26, sued Ronald W. Edwards, who also happens to be his godfather, and Edwards' promotions company, Sez Inc., for misappropriation of funds and identity theft, claiming that Edwards forged Studdard's signature on paperwork that gave Edwards power of attorney over Studdard's finances.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Scott Vowell awarded Studdard $500,000 in actual damages and another $1.5 million in punitive damages after ruling that Edwards had in fact messed with more than $246,000 of the Birmingham-born singer's earnings. The judge determined that Edwards improperly used Studdard's credit cards and took money from his checking and other bank accounts, including $10,000 to repay his own bank loan.
Edwards filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on June 17, 2005, claiming Sez Inc. was out of assets, leading Judge Vowell to dismiss the portion of Studdard's suit directed at the company.
Edwards also countersued Studdard in March 2005--a few weeks after Studdard filed his original complaint--for $500,000, saying the singer failed to pay him his deserved management fees and expenses.
Since winning American Idol in 2003, Studdard has flown largely under the radar, at least compared to the original Idol, Kelly Clarkson, who has became a Grammy-winning pop superstar, and season-three winner Fantasia Barrino, who's set to star as herself in a TV biopic about her life.
Studdard's debut album, Soulful, complemented his "Velvet Teddy Bear" moniker and went platinum, selling more than 1.8 million copies to date and earning him a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance. His follow-up effort, 2004's I Need an Angel, failed to repeat that succes, only achieving gold status with sales just over 500,000.
The pop/R&B/gospel singer has kept busy, however. Next month he'll host a music camp in Dothan, Alabama, for talented youngsters. The cost per camper is $100 and for that price each will get tips and training in songwriting, performance and music theory from certified music professionals. And, of course, the campers will get a chance to perform live with the big guy himself.
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