From KSTP

April 18, 2017 06:26 PM

Paisley Park and Prince's estate are teaming up in a federal lawsuit against sound engineer and mixer George Ian Boxill who is holding unpublished Prince tracks and threatening to release them, according to court documents.

The lawsuit alleges Boxill is in possession of five unpublished Prince tracks recorded in 2006, including one titled, "Deliverance." The federal lawsuit claims the recordings in controversy amount to a value greater than $75,000.

The filing states Boxill "is now trying to exploit one or more songs for his personal gain at expense of the Prince Estate."

Boxill is refusing to return the tracks, which Prince's estate managed by Comerica Bank & Trust and Paisley Park Enterprises argues is rightfully theirs and violates a contract Boxill made with Prince.

The lawsuit was initially filed in district court Friday; but it was re-filed in federal court Tuesday, since Boxill lives in California. The state suit filed in Carver County was thus withdrawn.

The state lawsuit details the following:

* The lawsuit states Boxill signed a confidentiality agreement, which stated that all recordings he worked on with the pop star "would remain Prince's sole and exclusive property."

* The agreement also stated Boxill "would not use any recordings or property in any way whatsoever," and "he would return any such recordings or property to Prince immediately upon request."

* However, Boxill will not return the masters or recordings, and he has shared the tracks with third parties, which all violate his contract, according to the lawsuit.

* The confidentiality agreement echoes Prince's concern for privacy. There was a clause in the contract that states Boxill has "no right to give interviews or write books, articles, etc."

The estate and Paisley Park claim a release of the so-called "Prince Recordings," would hurt its interests "permanently and irreparably." It would hurt business relationships , but more importantly, "it deprives Prince (and now the Estate) from choosing what is released to the public and when," the suit states.

The suit asks for Boxill and any associates working on this to return the Prince Recordings and refrain from using anything Boxill obtained with his sessions with Prince. The estate and Paisley Park said it would like "any and all masters, copies and reproductions" returned. The state lawsuit sought civil liability for theft.

KSTP reached Boxill by phone on Tuesday, but he said he was out of the country and would have to call back later.

[Edited 4/18/17 19:21pm]

It just AMAZES me how a man that detailed when it came to contracts and confidentiality agreements would be so thoughtless as to not have a WILL in place to ensure the protection of all that confidentiality. That just really makes no fucking sense to me, at all!

The suit is being talked about: http://prince.org/msg/7/441173

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

It just AMAZES me how a man that detailed when it came to contracts and confidentiality agreements would be so thoughtless as to not have a WILL in place to ensure the protection of all that confidentiality. That just really makes no fucking sense to me, at all!

I don't know that he was that detailed, to be honest. The 'no will' situation can only be because he did not believe his life was under threat and/or by the time that the realisation came it was simply too late to act.

[Edited 4/18/17 21:56pm]

TrivialPursuit said:

The suit is being talked about: http://prince.org/msg/7/441173

dupe