Love's Legal Woes Worsen

Thu., Oct. 27, 2005 11:50 AM PDT by Charlie Amter

Courtney Love is every attorney's dream client--until it comes time to collect payment for billable hours, that is.

The trouble-magnet rocker has been sued by the law firm of Hendricks & Lewis for more than $340,000.

The firm claims Love has failed to pay the sizeable debt, despite work performed in her name that ultimately helped the America's Sweetheart singer collect millions of dollars.

According to the firm's suit, filed this week in Seattle, Hendricks & Lewis alleges it performed services for Kurt Cobain's widow that netted her more than $5 million--including negotiating deals for a coffee-table book on Cobain (Journals) that was released in 2002 and a Nirvana greatest-hits album. Love is heir to her late husband's fortune and controls the rights to his legacy.

The suit also names Love's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, in the complaint.

Love's manager, Peter Asher, told MTV Wednesday, "The matter is in Courtney's lawyer's hands."

This is actually the second time that Love has been sued by a law firm of late.

Los Angeles-based Manatt, Phelps & Phillips sued the "Malibu" singer last year, alleging it, too, was owed cash for legal services rendered.

The 41-year-old rocker, who is currently in rehab, purportedly owed the firm an unspecified amount in legal fees, but that case was reportedly settled within the last few weeks.

A Los Angeles judge had originally given the People vs. Larry Flynt star until Oct. 14 to answer to Manatt, Phelps & Phillips' claims of unpaid attorney fees.

As Love's personal life has spiraled out of control over the past few years, so too has her financial situation.

Despite millions of dollars flowing into the rocker's bank account annually thanks to publishing royalties from Nirvana's lucrative back catalog, Love has had her fair share of pecuniary difficulties lately.

The Hole frontwoman was sued in August by Mercury Capital Corporation, which claims Love hasn't made a mortgage payment on her New York loft apartment since June.

The condo's management board filed two liens against the former grunge goddess last year over her alleged late payments.

While Love's net worth is not known, the rocker has claimed in the past that she has been bilked out of millions by dishonest money managers.

She told Blender magazine last year that she was swindled out of $40 million by a "fiduciary institution" and was $4 million in debt, thanks in part to her Everest-sized mound of legal bills.

Love even blamed former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl--a onetime legal sparring partner--for her financial woes this summer, telling Spin magazine that the current Foo Fighter has been "taking money from my child for years."