George Clinton has been successful in defeating a motion against him by music publisher and record company owner Armen Boladian, who claimed Clinton defamed him in his 2014 biography ‘Brothas Be’.
The book claimed Boladian “fabricated documents,” “robbed” Clinton of his songs, and “fraudulently backdated and altered” a written agreement between Boladian and Clinton”.
Clinton’s Los Angeles based law firm Nolan Heimann reports In 1994, a United States District Court Judge held that Clinton did not sign the document used by Boladian’s company to record its rights with the Copyright Office. And in 1995, Boladian stated in a sworn declaration that he, in fact, altered the language of a 1982 written agreement with Clinton and added songs to the agreement, but did so pursuant to his power of attorney.
During the trial, Clinton’s attorneys, Jordan Susman and Margo Arnold, of Nolan and Heimann LLP, shared with the jury the 1994 District Court decision, Boladian’s 1995 declaration, and affidavits from two of Boladian’s former employees affirming that he altered agreements after they were signed by Clinton and other artists.
After hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously held that the statements in Clinton’s book were not actionable because they were either true, matters of opinion, or not made with constitutional malice.
George Clinton turned 80 in July. In a statement he said, “I am grateful and overjoyed that a jury of my peers agreed that there is nothing defamatory in speaking my mind and sharing my life story. I will continue to speak truth to power, and to fight against the forces that have separated so many songwriters from their music. Investigate. Interrogate. Litigate. Unseal. Reveal. If we don’t get this right, then they win.”
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