Peggy Lee Class-Action Suit Settlement Stalled

The $4.75-million settlement of late torch singer Peggy Lee’s class-action royalties suit against Vivendi Universal hit a snag Tuesday when actor Larry Hagman objected, saying the figure is too low and the agreement may be unfair to some artists.

Hagman is executor of the estate of his mother, Mary Martin, who recorded for Decca Records from 1938 to 1946 and is best known for her Broadway roles in the musicals “South Pacific,” “The Sound of Music” and “Peter Pan.” The Decca label is under the entertainment giant’s Universal Music Group.

Lee accused her record company of using questionable accounting practices to cheat artists out of royalties for decades. Universal, the biggest record company, acquired Decca artists through a series of mergers.

Hagman did not attend Tuesday’s hearing, at which the settlement was to have been finalized by Superior Court Judge Victoria Gerrard Chaney. But in court papers, the actor urged the judge to reject it, arguing that the financial award is “inadequate” to compensate “the substantial losses experienced by hundreds of great musical artists over a long period of time.” Hagman added that the settlement forces some artists to accept modifications to their contracts that favor the record company.

“What we’re hearing in the courtroom is J.R., and not Larry Hagman,” said Lee’s lawyer, Cyrus V. Godfrey, referring to Hagman’s role as scheming Texas oilman J.R. Ewing on the television series “Dallas.”

The proposed settlement, reached just days before Lee’s death in January, also involves about 160 others who recorded for Decca before January 1962.

Under terms of the settlement, Vivendi admits no wrongdoing.

Attorneys for Lee and Vivendi said the settlement was fair and reasonable, and the judge has given preliminary approval. But Hagman’s lawyer, Bruce A. Broillet, said the $1 million set aside for artists who already have signed amended contracts for compact disc sales gives them a better deal than those who have not.

“I think this proposed settlement is a speeding train that was moving down the tracks too quickly and was going to run over the rights of some of our most cherished entertainers,” Broillet said. “We will now subject it to considerable scrutiny.”

Also objecting was band singer Tony Martin, 88, who recorded for Decca from 1936 to the late 1940s, when he was best known for “September Song.”

Unlike Lee, Tony Martin was a so-called penny rate contract artist, who was paid pennies per record instead of a percentage, said his lawyer, Marc A. Karlin. When Martin’s contracts were signed more than 50 years ago, recordings were released on 78 rpm records that included only a few songs. Court documents state that his contracts were never upgraded to include royalties for longer-playing formats, including compact discs.

“We had a settlement proposal that gave us no way of knowing the value of Tony Martin’s claim or others with penny rate contracts,” Karlin said.

An attempt by Philadelphia lawyer Mark C. Rifkin to join the case on behalf of the heirs of Curtis Mayfield and Jackie Wilson failed after the judge refused to include them in the class-action suit. Rifkin argued that the settlement let the record company off the hook for a relatively small amount of money and sanctioned the mistreatment of artists.

“You’re telling me, in essence, that the settlement stinks?” Chaney asked.

“In plain language, yes,” Rifkin responded.

“You seem to think that if you were in this case, you would do much better,” Chaney continued. “What is it that you want? You’ve made a lot of noise for a lot of time, but I haven’t heard any down and dirty specifics.”

The judge then ordered the other lawyers to try to resolve their differences within 30 days.

“If at all possible, I want to keep this settlement together,” Chaney said.

Although the names of the class members have been filed under seal, attorneys have identified some of them as Louis Armstrong, Pearl Bailey, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, the Andrews Sisters and Bill Haley and the Comets.