18 September 2006
Newsdesk
Former Busted members James Bourne and Matt Willis have been set a High Court deadline to provide a defence against claims by founding band members Ki Fitzgerald and Owen Doyle that they were swindled out of songwriting royalties.
Reported by industry magazine Music Week, Fitzgerald and Doyle claim that they co-wrote some of Busted's biggest hits - including "What I Go To School For", "Year 3000" and "Sleeping With The Light On" - when they were part of the band's original line-up.
They are now suing Bourne and Willis for breach of the band's partnership, and the band's management company for a breach of their management agreement.
The High Court Order compels Bourne, Willis and Prestige Management to serve their defence to the case within 28 days.
If they fail to do so, Fitzgerald and Owen will be entitled to apply for a default judgement against their former band mates.
A spokesman for Entertainment Law Associates, who are co-ordinating the action for the pair, said it was confident of a positive outcome for its clients.
They added: "It will be interesting to see how expelling Ki and Owen from their own band and taking their writing credits off Busted's biggest hits can be reconciled with their former manager's obligations to act in their best interests at all times."
