The Killers' former manager has filed like he means it.
Los Angeles-based music consultant Braden Merrick is suing the Las Vegas rockers for at least $16 milion, alleging breach of contract.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, accuses band members Brandon Flowers, Ronnie Vannucci Jr., Dave Keuning and Mark Stoermer of firing Merrick without justification last May after the Killers began to gain success on the strength of the band's debut album, Hot Fuss, which featured the hit single "Mr. Brightside."
"As soon as he made them superstars they decided to stop paying him," Howard King, Merrick's Los Angeles lawyer, told the Associated Press. "He's entitled to a percentage of their income for his services as a manager and a producer."
In his filing, Merrick claims to have discovered the former garage band through a Website dedicated to Las Vegas acts while he was working as a regional consultant for Warner Bros. in 2002.
Though the label rejected the band, Merrick claims he continued to work with the Killers and eventually scored the band a record deal with Island Def Jam Records. Hot Fuss went on to sell more than 6 million copies and earned the Killers five Grammy nominations.
According to the suit, the band members signed an exclusive management contract with Merrick in 2003 that was to have run through 2007, but were later convinced by their lawyer and current manager, Robert Reynolds, to transfer their management duties to him.
Merrick also names Reynolds in the suit, alleging that the current manager interfered with his contractual relationship with the band.
Reynolds said that the band members were surprised by Merrick's court filing.
"The only statement the band would like to make at this time is that the claims alleged by Mr. Merrick are absolutely meritless and we intend to defend this action vigorously," Reynolds said in a statement.
Before the lawsuit was filed, the two sides were in the midst of negotiating a settlement. However, the Killers' New York-based attorney, Michael Guido, told Billboard that the band members will now likely file a countersuit against Merrick.
"The facts will become clear when the band files its answer--and cross-claim," Guido said. "He was an absentee manager. He breached his agreement and his fiduciary duties."
Legal troubles aside, the Killers recently headed back to the studio to begin work on their second album.