Trick Daddy, AOL TW, Atlantic Sued By Maryland Mother

06/25/2001 10:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Billy Johnson Jr

(6/25/01, 10 a.m. ET) -- A lawsuit was filed against Trick Daddy, AOL Time Warner, and Atlantic Records Tuesday (June 19), claiming that a version of Trick Daddy's Thugs Are Us album labeled as "clean" actually contained explicit lyrics. The suit was filed by a Maryland mother in Circuit Court in Montgomery County, Maryland.

The plaintiff is charging misrepresentation to consumers, based on the Montgomery's UDAP (Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices) statute. According to the plaintiff's attorney Jon. D. Pels, under UDAP, his client is allowed to seek actual damages as well as attorney fees. If the ruling is in the plaintiff's favor, Maryland residents who purchased the clean version of the CD will receive a refund.

In the complaint, Pels cites a line from a song on the album that makes an unedited reference to oral sex within the first 30 seconds of the song. The mother approached Pels with her case after purchasing the CD for her son. A pre-trial date has been set for December 21.

A spokesperson for Trick Daddy did not respond by press time. However, a spokesperson for Warner has been reported as saying, "Although we've just been served with the lawsuit, it is clear on its face that the plaintiffs misunderstand the RIAA guidelines on parental labels. If record companies and artists can be sued just because one parent or judge believes that an album was improperly labeled, then that discourages all record companies from labeling."

The UDAP statute usually provides attorney fees, and some damages for consumers with valid deceptive claims pertaining to a wide array of consumer issues ranging from auto repair to foreclosure.

-- Billy Johnson Jr., Los Angeles

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