Courtesy TMZ.com comes some actual legal news involving American Idol and a Dallas-based company called Peachez Inc. On Monday in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Studdard sued the promoter, which offices on South R.L. Thornton Freeway, for breach of contract -- most likely, over an axed tour. The single-page complaint, which you can read here, says Studdard is seeking "in excess of $45,000, plus interest" in compensatory damages -- for what, precisely, the suit doesn't say. Also named in the suit is Melvin Childs III, who's the owner of Peachez Inc., which is an entertainment promotions company that, as evidenced here, recently promoted the likes of Tyler Perry's The Marriage Counselor at the Music Hall at Fair Park.
Childs couldn't be reached by Unfair Park this afternoon, but when we phoned the Peachez offices, Al Wash, owner of ALW Entertainment, took the call. (Peaches and ALW were partners, as a matter of fact, on the Perry production.) Though Wash says he "just heard about the suit a few minutes ago," he also added that "my staff knows nothing about this tour" -- in other words, Studdard's suit stems from a concert tour that isn't happening. (Pollstar lists no tour dates for the second-season American Idol winner. And Studdard was also just dropped from his record label, which cited poor sales). As Wash said moments ago, ALW wasn't a partner on Studdard's tour, "and I have not had the chance to talk to someone from Peachez, but I didn't think nothing about it, because tours are canceled all the time."
Studdard's New York attorney, Howard Siegel, couldn't be reached by Unfair Park this afternoon. Messages have been left. And Wash says he will have a further statement tomorrow. --Robert Wilonsky
