Plot thickens in court case between Guy Sebastian and Titus Day
The drawn-out legal dispute between Guy Sebastian and his former manager Titus Day continues to unravel, with fresh claims of “misappropriation” by the musician.
Sebastian’s legal team has sought to amend his Federal Court case against Day after discovering international neighbouring rights royalties, totalling almost US$20,000, went missing in January.
An application filed with the court on Wednesday, first reported by Daily Telegraph, alleges Day directed a neighbouring rights business to transfer the funds to an unknown bank account.
The neighbouring rights business first tried to deposit the payment into an account controlled by Day’s now-liquidated management company 6 Degrees, according to Sebastian’s lawyers.
In the email correspondence, obtained by TMN on Thursday afternoon, the neighbouring rights business requested a new destination for the funds after the initial deposit bounced.
“Guy is seeking to amend his Federal Court claim against Mr Day to allege, among other things, misappropriation of Mr Sebastian’s money,” said a rep for The Voice coach.
Day told the Tele he had not “seen or received” any amended application and could not comment further, but when contacted by TMN on Thursday, Day said he would “no longer hold back”.
“Guy says I’m withholding money from him, and I say he’s withholding money from me,” he said. “That’s the essence of the whole case and we’ll leave it to the judge to decide.”
TMN contacted Sebastian’s reps on Thursday, who said if the court allows the amendment, the singer-songwriter will also allege further unpaid historical earnings.
“Guy’s new claim, if allowed, will also include overseas royalties that have now come to his attention that were not passed on over several years,” the artist’s rep told TMN.
“Previously 6 Degrees made a cross-claim in the proceedings, but the liquidators discontinued it,” they added. “There are no live claims for money in the proceedings against Guy or his company.”
As first reported by TMN in February, Day recently established a new management company with wife Courtney, signing Christine Anu and The Voice Australia winner Diana Rouvas.
The signing of Anu and Rouvas by the Day’s signals a fresh start for the couple, as they look to rebuild their management business after a number of very public breakups.
Alongside Anu and Rouvas, the pair now manage Australian Idol winner Damien Leith, media personality James Mathison and children’s entertainer Sam Moran.
Sebastian is now managed by Private Idaho’s Jennifer Fontaine, who also reps Human Nature.