Contract dispute involving singer Ne-Yo headed back to Las Vegas court

By Cy Ryan

Monday, Sept. 29, 2014 | 10:04 p.m.

A case involving successful singer-songwriter Ne-Yo and whether he owes 15 percent of his earnings for several years to the estate of a professional manager is headed back to District Court in Las Vegas.

The Nevada Supreme Court has reversed part of a pre-trial summary judgment in favor of Ne-Yo in a suit brought by Tanya Wallace, the administrator of the estate of the late David Wallace

David Wallace and Ne-Yo, whose birth name is Shaffer C. Smith, signed an agreement in Las Vegas in 1998 for seven years that Wallace would provide professional management services for Ne-Yo.

But shortly after, the singer moved to Los Angeles where his career started to blossom. Tanya Wallace maintains David Wallace tried to contact Ne-Yo several times by telephone but was unsuccessful. David Wallace never provided any services to the entertainer.

The suit maintains the contract should be honored and it wants 15 percent of the profits earned by the entertainer, who, is also described as a record producer, dancer and actor. His music career included “In My Own Words” and “Because of You.”

District Judge Linda Marie Bell granted the summary judgment partly on grounds the suit filed in 2007 was too late and beyond the statute of limitations.

The court, in a decision written by Justice Kristina Pickering, said there are “sparse facts” that Wallace ever tried to contact Ne-Yo but that he maintains he never agreed to abandon the contract.

The justices on Thursday said the district court must decide if the contract was abandoned and if so was the Wallace estate entitled to management fees for a time up to 2001.