Kelly Clarkson is being sued by an ex-law partner: The legal conflict continues

Kelly Clarkson, a former The Voice coach, and her ex-father-in-laws' business is expected to continue till at least 2023, according to court filings obtained by the Heavy show. Clarkson and her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, have reached an agreement on a divorce earlier this year, but are still figuring out the final details in court.

According to court filings, the fathers of Blackstock, Starstruck Management Group, sued Clarkson after the couple split. In the 2020 lawsuit, Narvel Blackstock said Clarkson owes his company nearly $2 million in unpaid commissions. Clarkson also filed a countercomplaint against the California Labor Commissioner accusing Narvel Blackstock and his son, Brandon Blackstock, of acting as unregistered talent agents.

In February 2022, Starstruck Management appointed a new judge to the civil case. Judge Wendy Chang recently issued an order halting any action until the state labor commission hears Clarksons' complaint.

Kelly Clarkson claims to own Blackstocks Company and Starstruck Management Group at least $1.4 million in commissions, and could owe millions more.

According to a Starstruck Management lawsuit, Kelly Clarkson began dating Narvel Blackstock, Reba McEntires ex-husband, in 2007. She married Brandon in 2013 and they have two children. She filed for divorce from in June 2020.

Starstruck agreed to manage Clarkson's career in 2007. Like any other client, Starstruck invested time, money, and effort in Clarkson. Over the span of approximately thirteen years, Clarkson developed into a household name, according to the complaint.

Starstruck was instrumental in assisting Clarkson to achieve remarkableness in terms of numerous hit albums, numerous Grammy nominations, her participation on popular television programs like The Voice, and her own talk show. Through this lawsuit, Starstruck seeks to recover the millions of dollars that Clarkson has already earned, as well as the millions of dollars that Clarkson will continue to earn.

Clarkson agreed to pay Starstruck the industry standard commission fee of 15% of her gross earnings, including future earnings, from any projects, engagements, or artistic projects that began, continued, or were commercially exploited under Starstruck's management of Clarkson. She agreed to continue paying them as long as Starstruck was willing, ready, and able to continue providing management services to the Clarkson Defendants.

Attorneys for Starstrucks claim in the lawsuit that things have changed since 2020:

The Clarkson Defendants paid some, though not all, of the Commissions due to Starstruck in 2020, but only paid $1,918,747.90. Under the Management Agreement, the Clarkson Defendants have failed to pay Starstruck over $1.4 million in Commissions.

Lawyers for Starstrucks accuse Clarkson of breaching their management agreement by failing to pay the whole commission she owes in connection with the Voice and Clarksons talk show, according to court documents. Clarkson is required to continue paying commissions on her projects, including, without limitation, future earnings from the Voice, Clarksons talk show, and Clarksons Wayfair deal.

In a October 2020 complaint, Clarkson fought back against Narvel and Brandon Blackstock.

According to court filings obtained by Heavy, Clarkson retaliated against Blackstocks, calling the California Labor Commissioner accusing Starstruck Management of breaching an oral contract and in violation of Californias Talent Agencies Act.

According to court filings, Clarksons' attorneys accuse Starstruck Management of obtaining a Talent Agency License from the Labor Commissioner. If the labor commission decides in her favor, then the claims made by Starstruck in its lawsuit will be dismissed.

According to court filings, the Plaintiffs Complaint does not owe any commissions to Clarkson for the alleged Talent Agencies Act violation. However, the Labor Commissioner has not yet conducted a hearing on the Defendants' petition, and no determination has been made concerning the allegations contained therein.

The status of the labor commission dispute was not immediately known, other than that it is still ongoing. Attorneys for Clarkson and Starstruck have not commented on the ongoing cases in state court and before the labor commissioner.