Fired Exec Files Suit Against Time Warner : Music: The $15-million claim was expected. Sources say the firm is preparing a case linking recent terminations to sales scandal.

Time Warner Inc., as expected, was hit Tuesday with a $15-million breach-of-contract lawsuit by Melvyn R. Lewinter, former president and chief operating officer of its domestic music sector.

Lewinter, a 25-year company veteran with more than four years remaining on his contract, said he was wrongfully terminated last week. Lewinter’s case marks the second time in six weeks that the media giant has been sued by a top music executive. Lewinter’s boss, Doug Morris, another Warner veteran who was ousted in June with nearly five years remaining on his contract, also filed a multimillion-dollar claim against Time Warner’s music division.

Sources said Time Warner is preparing a case that may connect both firings to a recent internal investigation into improper sales practices at Warner-owned Atlantic Records. The probe, initiated by Morris, resulted in the dismissals of 10 employees between December and March after thousands of Atlantic compact discs were alleged to have been stolen and sold without authorization to retailers.

Nick Maria, a longtime sales chief who was terminated without a severance package in December as a result of the investigation, was contacted last month by Time Warner attorneys and is believed to have given information implicating Morris and Lewinter in the scandal.

In recent weeks, Time Warner paid Maria an estimated $200,000 severance settlement that includes a comprehensive health benefits package. Sources said the firm also promised Maria that it will not press charges against him.