Soul singer's daughters sue over royalties

ATLANTA - The daughters of soul singer James Brown are suing the entertainer, claiming he owes them more than $200,000 for 25 songs they say they co-wrote. <br> <br> The suit in U.S. District Court in Atlanta seeks more than $1 million in damages and alleges breach of contract, negligence and racketeering. Named as defendants are Brown, who grew up in Augusta and lives across the Savannah River in Beech Island, S.C., Warner/Chappell Music and Brown&#39;s lawyer, Leon Friedman. <br> <br> Deanna Brown Thomas, 33, who works at a South Carolina radio station, and Dr. Yamma Brown Lumar, 29, a physician in Texas, say they have not been paid royalties for songs including the 1976 hit ``Get Up Offa That Thing.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``This is a sad scenario,&#39;&#39; said the women&#39;s lawyer, Gregory Reed of Detroit. ``They didn&#39;t want to handle it this way.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> According to the lawsuit, Brown holds a grudge against his daughters. In 1998, Thomas had her father committed to a psychiatric hospital to be treated for addiction to painkillers. <br> <br> After his release, Brown ``vowed to the media that his daughters will never get a dime from him,&#39;&#39; the lawsuit said. ``James Brown has kept his word.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Brown could not be reached for comment Tuesday, and Friedman declined to comment, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday. <br> <br> In a letter to Reed almost a year ago, the newspaper said, Friedman agreed that some money was owed to Brown&#39;s daughters - about $66,000. <br> <br> ``However, Mr. Brown would be prepared to be more generous to his daughters&#39;&#39; and pay them $198,000 ``if and only if&#39;&#39; they turn over copyrights to the songs, Friedman wrote. <br> <br> Even though they were children when the songs were written - 3 and 6 when ``Get Up Offa That Thing&#39;&#39; was a hit - Brown&#39;s daughters helped write them, Reed said. <br> <br> Brown&#39;s ex-wife Diedre Jenkins also owns copyrights to the songs. According to the lawsuit, Brown has allowed only Jenkins to receive her share of the royalties.

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