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David Cassidy Sues For Royalties

'Partridge Family' singer says Sony is withholding rights money

October 6, 2011 11:35 AM ET
david cassidy partridge sue
David Cassidy attends "The Celebrity Apprentice" Season 4 Finale in New York.
Jim Spellman/WireImage

David Cassidy, the singer who starred in the 1970s sitcom The Partridge Family, has sued Sony for allegedly withholding royalty money. In legal action field Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Cassidy's lawyers claimed that the show has generated more than $500 million in profits from ancillary merchandise – games, lunchboxes, magazines – in the years since its debut. Cassidy's original contract, signed in 1971, called for the singer-actor to receive 15 percent of all proceeds from such sales, they claim. 

Cassidy told CNN that, according to his former manager, he has received just $5000 in merchandising royalties. "It's just a matter of being fair," the 61-year-old entertainer told the network. "Just be fair, be real, be genuine, don't be greedy."

The suit is the second of its kind filed this week: earlier, the estate of Rick Nelson filed suit against Capitol Records for alleged withholding of royalty payments.

Related:
Rick Nelson Estate Sues Capitol Records

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