Chance the Rapper has won an exploitation countersuit against his ex-manager, Pat Corcoran. The legal battle began at the end of 2020, when Corcoran sued the rapper for breach of contract, claiming he was owed $3.8 million in unpaid expenses and royalties after being terminated by Chance in 2020. Two months after, Chance filed his own lawsuit, alleging that Corcoran breached his fiduciary responsibilities, diverted business opportunities to his separate companies, and demanded and accepted kickbacks. The countersuit asked for at least $1 million in damages.
At Chicago’s Daley Center on Friday, March 20, the Cook County jury found that there wasn’t sufficient evidence that Corcoran was owed $3.8 million in damages. After deliberating for two hours, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, the jury decided that Corcoran owed Chance $35, and suggested Corcoran flip the internet domain name ChanceRaps.com, the website Corcoran once used to sell Chance the Rapper merchandise. “I claim victory in the name of the Lord,” Chance told the Sun-Times after the verdict was announced.
“We respect the jury’s decision, but the message to music managers is clear: Get it in writing,” Corcoran’s lawyer Jay Scharkey said in a statement via the Sun-Times. “The jury award of $35 speaks to how seriously the jury viewed Chance’s case.”