McCartney, Starr sue EMI for $53 million

The Beatles once sang Money (That’s What I Want), now lawyers for the long defunct band proved it by filing a lawsuit this week seeking $53 million in royalties from EMI Group. The suit alleges that audits show EMI failed to pay money due the band that was collected between 1994 and 1999.

Thursday’s lawsuit was filed in New York and London on behalf of Apple Corps Ltd. The company is owned by the two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono Lennon, and the estate of the late George Harrison. An EMI spokeswoman said the company allowed artists to audit royalty accounts, but that, ‘‘Sometimes there is a difference of opinion, not least of which when contracts are complex and how it should be interpreted.’’

The spokeswoman said, the company has amicable relationships with the artists and their families. This is the third time the Beatles have sued EMI over royalties in the last 25 years. The two previous suits were settled out of court. The latest dispute’s negotiations began two years ago. — LA Times