Toots’ family ordered to release contentious hard drive to manager

Family members of the late reggae icon Fredrick ‘Toots’ Hibbert, who have been embroiled in a legal battle with his road manager over a hard drive containing several of the artiste’s songs that were re-recorded by another entertainer for an album, have been ordered by the Supreme Court to immediately release the storage device.

The manager, Caleb Stephenson, filed a claim to recover the hard drive containing songs for an album on which he said he was the executive producer and which was being unlawfully detained by Hibbert’s widow, Doreen.

The icon’s daughter, Leba Thomas, and his granddaughter, Cressida Rattigan, who are the executrixes of his estate, were also named as first and second defendants. Both have denied being in possession of the hard drive.

At the centre of the dispute is an album with 13 songs that were recorded at Hibbert’s studio, the Reggae Centre in Kingston, by entertainer Andrew Brown, popularly known as Droop Lion, who is managed by Stephenson.

Before his death in September 2020, Hibbert was said to have been contracted as co-producer and had played several instruments on the album as well as provided guidance and demos for the songs, 10 of which are said to have been authored by him.

According to a copy of the draft judgment, the hard drive was left in Hibbert’s care at his studio three months before he fell ill in August 2020.

The icon later died in September, and some time after, Stephenson said he contacted Doreen and Rattigan to retrieve the hard drive, but the requests were ignored.

BLOW TO REPUTATION

After making several unsuccessful attempts to retrieve the device, Stephenson filed the action in which he claimed damages for the loss suffered as a result of the unreasonable detention of the hard drive. He also claimed that his reputation had taken a blow because of his inability to deliver the album.

While declaring that he was the sole financial investor and backer for the project and had paid Hibbert for his services as co-producer and for the use of his studio, Stephenson said that he has expended in excess of US$$81,000 on the production of the album and was at risk of losing all of his investment unless he was able to regain control of the files and finalise an album deal.

But Hibbert’s wife challenged Stephenson’s claim to ownership of the hard drive. She contended that Stephenson was not part of the production of the album, which was done by her husband and Droop Lion, and was not included in an arrangement between them.

She said her husband provided guidance and instruction in the recording of the songs as well as the vocals, studio facilities, musicians, and backup vocalists, while Droop Lion provided the artistry in the form of singing the songs, which were Hibbert’s unreleased and published songs.

Doreen further asserted that the parties, including her now-deceased husband, Droop Lion, and Stephenson, would not be permitted to gain any access and/or commercial use and/or benefit until the will for the estate of the deceased was probated, the estate wound up, and permission from the executrixes and directors of the studio were obtained.

PROOF IN CONTRACT

Stephenson, however, produced an artiste-management contract to show that he had an arrangement with Droop Lion to produce the album and also produced receipts for payments made to Hibbert and other contributors on the album.

Droop Lion also testified in support of Stephenson being the executive producer but indicated that Hibbert had contributed a significant amount of the work.

Doreen and Rattigan’s lawyer, however, argued that Stephenson had not obtained a licence for the use of Hilbert’s work, but Justice Stephane Jackson Haisley found that Hibbert must have given his permission since he was also working on the album.

“It seems to me that the parties came together with the claimant as executive producer, Droop Lion as the main artiste, and the deceased as producer and others such as Nigel Burrell as producer and engineer to reflect a conglomeration of talent, where they mutually understood their separate roles and responsibilities.

“It is clear from this that the musical works and the sound recordings on the hard drive do not all belong to the estate of the deceased and D&F Music,” she said.

Consequently, an order was made for all three defendants to turn over the hard drive to Stephenson with all content intact and for cost to be agreed and taxed.

At the same time, the judge noted that her order did not dispose of or preclude the issue of copyright protection for any person who has an interest in any intellectual property contained in the album.

She also ruled that the damages are to be determined in open court in a hearing.

Attorney-at-law Keith Bishop represents Stephenson. Queen Counsel Ian Wilkinson and Jhawn Graham appeared for Toots’ wife and granddaughter, while Jacqueline Cummings represented Thomas.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com