A “Hustle & Flow” actress is suing a production company formed by John Singleton for a second time, saying the entity did not pay its share of arbitration fees stemming from the settlement of a prior lawsuit in which she alleged she was owed contingent compensation from the 2005 film the late director co-produced.
In the first Los Angeles Superior Court case, brought in November 2021 by plaintiff Taryn Manning against Crunk Pictures LLC, alleging breach of contract and also seeking an accounting, Manning maintained she was due money under a May 2004 agreement with Crunk Pictures amounting to 1% of 100% of the net profits derived from exploitation of the picture, amounting to at least $812,245.
Crunk and Manning settled the suit in June 2023 when Crunk assigned to Manning its rights that Crunk would be paid from Paramount Pictures for the distribution of “Hustle & Flow ” with the stipulation that Manning arbitrate any legal claims against Paramount, according to Manning’s new suit filed Tuesday in the same court, alleging breach of contract.
In the new case, Manning maintains that Crunk reneged on its settlement promise to pay 7.5% of an arbitrator’s fees, the same amount she paid. Paramount agreed to pay the remaining 85%, the new suit states.
“(Crunk) refused to pay its proportional share of the arbitrator fee,” the new suit alleges.
An attorney who represented Crunk in the first suit did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the new complaint. In his court papers filed in connection with the original case, the Crunk lawyer denied Manning’s allegations and said her claims were barred by the statute of limitations.
Manning, now 46, is best known for portraying Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett in the Netflix original series, “Orange Is the New Black.”
“Hustle & Flow” starred Terrence Howard as a Memphis hustler and pimp who aspired to become a rapper. The movie won an Academy Award for best original song for, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.”
The film was produced by Singleton and Stephanie Allain. Singleton, who founded Crunk Pictures in 2004, died of a stroke at age 51 in April 2019.