US songwriter wins $44m lawsuit over Usher’s ‘Bad Girl’

A US songwriter who was left out of the credits of a song recorded by R&B star Usher has won US$44 million in damages in court.

Philadelphia-based Daniel Marino claimed in court documents that between 2001 and 2002, he worked with songwriters William Guice and Dante Barton.

They created a song called Club Girl, which Marino said he wrote most of, including its guitar hook, tempo, chord progression, and other elements.

Guice was responsible for the lyrics and Dante Barton added some beats.

The three had drawn up an agreement where they would split the credit and royalties equally.

However, that seemed to have been dishonoured when a representative of Usher contacted them and told them that the superstar was eager to record the song for his album Confessions.

It was retitled Bad Girl to fit in with Usher’s theme for his 2004 album and released as one of its singles.

According to Marino’s documents, a “secret contract” was struck between Guice and Barton and Usher’s people, which left him out of credit or payment.

Guice and Barton left Philadelphia “for parts unknown” and Marino lost contact with them.

The Grammy-winning Confessions sold over 10.3 million copies in the US and over 20 million copies worldwide.

In Australia, it peaked at #2 on the ARIA chart and was certified 3 times platinum for unit sales of over 210,000.

Marino alleges that the other two writers earned roughly $700,000 from Bad Girl.

The Philadelphia Common Pleas Court found that Guice must pay $6.75 million in compensatory damages and $20.25 million in punitive damages.

A decision a few days earlier ordered Barton’s company Destro Music Productions to pay $17.35 million.

This brought the tally owed to $44.35 million.

The case was between the three writers and did not include Usher. However, when first filed in 2011 he was included along with 20 defendants.

The court threw out all but two.