In 2008, Cassadee Pope sued Driven Productions to declare the management contract between them invalid. Driven Productions secured a long-term contract from Ms. Pope that violated Florida state law and the Centis compounded that misconduct by failing to obtain court approval of any lawful relationship with her. That lawsuit is still pending before the Broward court with dispositive motions on file. This new lawsuit is redundant and an attempt by the Centis to get headlines by suing innocent third parties. 

He did, however, add that another one of his clients, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino fromJersey Shore, was also sued for dissolving a relationship with his manager on the very same day. "Sorry, Charlie, he didn't have a license either," Wolfe said.

As for the Centis, Deerfield Beach-based Ticktin was quite eager to discuss the matter. Regarding the timing of this current suit: "We wanted to wait as long as possible for a couple of reasons. One was that Cassadee Pope was just starting out four years ago with Columbia Records. We thought that if we filed the lawsuit at that time that it could cause her career to get ruined. That wouldn't have done any good for her or us. It made sense for us to wait to see if she had an opportunity to prosper."

Regarding the $50 million in damages: "This is being filed to fix the industry. We are letting Sony know that if they conduct themselves in this way, they're going to pay huge amounts. Anyone who Sony decides to hurt, they have no conscience, and they will hurt."

Centi added these remarks:

We managed Cassadee for 6 years up until we negotiated the Columbia contract with both Columbia's attorney and Cassadee's attorney in late 2007. At that same time, at age 18, Cassadee signed a management agreement with us, extending the agreement to 5 more years. Things were progressing, as they always did each year prior. We always saw advancement year after year and 2007 brought us a quantum leap.

Here is the full reply from the Centis' lawyer, Ticktin:

It makes no difference that Driven was not licensed as a talent agent at the time that Driven or the Centis signed Cassadee Pope. 

It is true that it is not permissible to act as a talent agent for more than one act unless one is licensed.  However, it is not true that the Centis or Driven had more than one act.  I think that Mr. Wolfe is confusing the idea of representing more than one person with more than one "act." Blake was a band that was part of the same act, as Cassadee was part of the band. In fact, the band was named "Blake," which is Cassadee's middle name.

Wolf also claims the contract that was signed with Cassadee was not court-approved. This is simply not relevant. There was no need for any such approval. It is what lawyers call a "Red Herring."

Originally, Cassadee and her parents signed as she was under 18 years of age.  In 2007, when Cassadee was already 18, she re-signed with Driven Entertainment Group. 

In any event, just in case there is any confusion as to the interference with the contractual relationship, there can be no question that these officious interlopers, on behalf of Columbia Records/Sony, interfered with the "advantageous business relationship" between the Centis and Cassadee.  The wrong that they committed is egregious, and is going to be redressed.  It is going to take more than the sharp tactics of a top notch lawyer who is great at splitting hairs to get these giant exploiters off the proverbial hook. 

In fact, I understand that this type of underhanded client stealing is rampant in the music business.  It is time that the industry learn that it will be costly to act unconscionably.

In spite of the legal action, both Ticktin and Dominick Centi were quick to note that Cassadee Pope is a "talent" and that much of the blame for this legal action falls upon her record label, as well as Sony's Jay Harren, and Ozone's Brett Disend, who, according to court documents, "told [Pope] that if she wanted to get her record deal with Sony, that she needed to leave the Centis behind completely, and terminate the agreement." Lori Pope, Cassadee's mother, is also named in the suit.

In spite of his own stake in the legal proceedings, Centi acknowledges that the average Hey Monday fan isn't likely to care about this lawsuit at all. "We expect her fans to only appreciate her talent, just as we do," he says. "I can very easily remember being a young music fan. All that mattered was the artist and their music. We hope her fans continue to enjoy her music and shows and that the already strong bond between Cassadee and her fans continues to grow stronger."

By KIMBERLY MILLER

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 6:38 p.m. Wednesday, July 13, 2011 | Posted: 10:06 p.m. Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Former Assistant Attorney General Theresa Edwards and colleague June Clarkson had been investigating the state's so-called "foreclosure mills," uncovering evidence of legal malpractice that also implicated banks and loan serv icers.

Despite positive performance evaluations, Edwards said the two were told during a meeting with their supervisor in late May to give up their jobs voluntarily or be let go. Edwards said no reason was given for the move.

"It all happened very abruptly," said Edwards, who had worked in the attorney general's office for about three years.

The foreclosure investigations were launched under former Attorney General Bill McCollum, but Edwards said she sensed changes were coming under Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

"I think they wanted to put people in there that were more in line with their thinking," Edwards said.

Bondi's press secretary said Tuesday that foreclosure investigations are still open and are being personally led or supervised by Division Director Richard Lawson.

"The division has made these investigations a top priority and will continue to actively pursue all of our investigations into foreclosure law firms," said Jennifer Krell Davis.

But Edwards said she was given no time to brief anyone on the investigations and that there were notes that had yet to be transcribed and filed.

Davis said she could not comment on personnel issues when asked about the nature of the resignations.

On May 20, Edwards said she and Clarkson were summoned together to a meeting at 3:30 p.m. and told by Robert Julian, then the South Florida bureau chief for the Economic Crimes Section of the attorney general's office, that they had the opportunity to resign or would be let go immediately. They turned in nearly identical resignation letters that day.

"We had absolutely no idea it was coming," said Edwards, who in an April 22 performance review she provided to The Palm Beach Post was praised by Julian.

"During this interim period, Ms. Edwards has, along with another attorney, achieved what is believed to be the first settlement in the United States relating to law firm foreclosure mills," the review says. "Her work has been instrumental in triggering a nationwide review of such practices."

The Fort Lauderdale-based Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson agreed to pay $2 million in March to settle the attorney general's investigation.

Clarkson, who is on vacation and could not be reached Tuesday, also received high marks from Julian on a performance evaluation in September, which was obtained through a public records request. She was given "above expectation" or "exceptional" rankings in 14 of 15 categories.

Edwards said Julian has since been placed in another position. A message left at his office Tuesday was not returned.

In sworn statements taken by Edwards and Clarkson as part of their investigation of the Law Offices of David J. Stern, former employees described conditions where signatures were regularly forged on foreclosure documents, paperwork was notarized by non-notaries, and flawed files were hidden from auditors of federal mortgage backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Fannie and Freddie subsequently fired Stern's Plantation-based firm, and would eventually stop sending business to two other South Florida firms facing state inquiry.

"I know those two ladies did a yeoman's job, and it perplexed me when they left the office," Josh Bleil, a partner in the Ticktin Law Group foreclosure defense firm, said about Edwards and Clarkson. "They were instrumental in creating the Power Point presentation that blew up everything."

Bleil is referring to a 98-page report titled "Unfair, Deceptive and Unconscionable Acts in Foreclosure Cases," which outlines instances of questionable signatures and notarizations, as well as foreclosures filed by entities that might not have had the legal ability to foreclose.

Julian notes in Edwards' April performance review that the foreclosure investigation has faced criticism.

His opponents said McCollum was politically motivated when he issued subpoenas to three law firms in August before the Republican primary. McCollum, who now works for the SNR Denton law firm in Washington, could not be reached Tuesday.

And the investigation has had setbacks. The Boca Raton-based firm Shapiro & Fishman won a ruling in the 4th District Court of Appeal in April to quash its subpoena. The state is not challenging the decision but Davis said the investigation remains ongoing.

In January, Bondi's office told lawmakers in a Senate Banking and Insurance Committee meeting that Florida's foreclosure process is in "total disarray" with a "morass" of fraudulent paperwork.

Committee member Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, criticized suggestions that banks should be pushed to employ foreclosure alternatives such as short sales. He also objected to the term "foreclosure mill" when referring to the state's large law firms that represent banks.

"Foreclosure mill could also be called very busy law firm because you provide excellent service to your clients," Negron said.

Edwards and Clarkson have opened their own foreclosure defense firm based in Hollywood and hope to help homeowners with the knowledge they gained in the attorney general's office.

"It's been a very unexpected change in circumstance," Edwards said.

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. – As Jamaican immigrants, Clovis Nelson, his wife and their six children wanted to put their roots and their home in South Florida.

Posted: 07/11/2011 By: Ashleigh Walters

Nelson said he was ignorant to the details, finding that just months after he signed the paperwork, the mortgage was impossible.

"I just did not see this as the American dream that I was craving," he said. "I made several efforts to (negotiate) with them, they just wouldn't listen…It turned out to be a nightmare," he said.

Nelson is one of 3,300 clients working with the Ticktin law firm on foreclosure issues. There are 500 of these clients in West Palm Beach alone.

"Not greed but stinking greed. There were people that made billions of dollars out of this thing," said lawyer Peter Ticktin.

Multiple media outlets are reporting that current closed-door negotiations could force banks to set up funds for states to resolve complaints. The settlements could set standards for foreclosure and loan processes going forward.

Ticking helped to discover the so-called "robo-signers," and he says the size of the foreclosure problem is impossible to measure.

"How can the banks get this thing fixed? It's not as though the banks can sit down with any particular person or a government entity or anybody and say, O-K, let's drum up a way of fixing this," Ticktin said.

Ticktin says reworking the system for families may be the best solution.

"And say let's put people in something where you're still safe in your home, that would be the way to go about it, that would be responsible banking," he said.

Nelson's case is not in litigation currently. As his lawyer explains, no paperwork from the bank meant no case against him. He is not paying his mortgage and he is hoping for the best.

"I'm just grateful for the way things are right now, where we are at with this foreclosure, and you know, the possibilities that loom on the horizon," he said.

Negotiators have tentatively set a date of July 13, 2011 for the settlement, which could exceed $20 billion.

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