U.S. CD California CV-07-01794

The Saturday Team, Inc.; Icon Music Entertainment Services LLC
v.
Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen aka Tila Tequila; Does

Indie record label The Saturday Team and Icon Music have accused MySpace music sensation Tila Tequila of breaching her recording agreement by publicly claiming the album they produced is a bogus recording.

The Saturday Team says it inked a deal in 2005 with Tequila, whose real name is Thien Nguyen, to produce a seven-song album called the “Sex EP.” Tequila granted the record label a five-year exclusive license to the recordings in exchange for $10,000 to promote the album, the plaintiffs claim.

Less than a month after The Saturday Team stuck a deal with Icon Music Entertainment, Tequila denied having signed the 2005 recording contract, the complaint says. Tequila published defamatory statements to her 1.7 million “friends” on the social networking site MySpace, falsely stating that the “Sex EP” is fake and that the plaintiffs were trying to use her name to “steal (her fans’) money,” the suit states.

Tequila allegedly sent letters to online retailers, including Amazon.com and the Apple iTunes store, threatening legal action if they sold the plaintiffs’ album.

She went on to sign a recording contract with Will.i.am Music Group, an A&M subsidiary, but later rejected that offer as well. She ended up independently releasing the single “I Love U,” which was produced by Lil John and sold exclusively through iTunes. The song hit number 84 on the online store’s music charts.

The plaintiffs seeks an injunction restraining Tequila from calling their “Sex EP” a fake, and an order directing her to remove negative comments about them from MySpace and send her MySpace friends a message retracting the alleged defamatory statements. They also demand unspecified damages and legal costs.

Causes of action: Lanham Act violations; breach of contract; trade libel; interference with contractual relations; interference with prospective economic advantage; unfair competition; injunctive relief; declaratory relief

Filing counsel: John Farrell and Shelley Mack of Fish & Richardson (Redwood City, Calif.)