Beyoncé's father wants to depose Live Nation to find out if the concert promotion giant orchestrated allegations that he stole from his superstar daughter and if she earned a payday for dumping him as her manager.
The recording artist, actress and fashion designer fired Mathew Knowles on May 13, according to a petition filed Monday in Harris County District Court.
Knowles alleges that he was forced out of managing his daughter's affairs by a company that wanted to run her lucrative world tour. He is asking a judge for permission to question Live Nation officials about their business relationships with Beyoncé and her husband, rap mogul Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, among others.
Knowles especially wants to know who told his daughter that he took money he wasn't entitled to and if Live Nation had a role in his termination. That information, the petition said, will help him investigate potential grounds for a lawsuit.
Efforts to reach Knowles, Beyoncé or their representatives for comment were unsuccessful. Live Nation had no comment.
Beyoncé rose to international fame in the late 1990s as part of the Houston-groomed girl group Destiny's Child and later as a solo artist.
According to the petition, Beyoncé and other members of Destiny's Child individually entered into personal management agreements with Knowles lasting from June 1997 through February 2000. Under those deals, Knowles served as their "exclusive personal manager throughout the world," the filing said. He managed Beyoncé for almost 14 years.
Before Knowles' termination in May, Live Nation only possessed the rights to Beyoncé's 2011 North American tour, the petition said.
"Upon information and belief, after failing to secure the rights to Beyoncé's world tour, Live Nation agents or representatives made statements to Beyoncé, alleging that (Knowles) had stolen money from Beyoncé on her most recent tour or otherwise taken funds," the filing said.
In October, the law firm conducting an audit for Beyoncé accused her father of fraud, partially based on false statements by Live Nation, Knowles alleges.