Following the conclusion of a legal battle against the energy drink maker Celsius, the rapper Flo Rida was granted an amount of $82.6 million.
In May of 2021, Flo Rida, whose actual name is Tramar Dillard, together with his production firm, Strong Arm Productions, filed a lawsuit against Celsius Holdings Inc., alleging that the corporation had breached the terms of an endorsement arrangement that was in effect between the years 2014 and 2018.
A jury in South Florida decided on Wednesday that Celsius had violated the terms of the agreement. In addition, the jury came to the conclusion that the company had dishonestly concealed facts from Dillard.
As a consequence of the decision, Mr. Dillard reportedly said in a statement that he now had a “new respect for the legal system.” This is according to NBC News.
“We had a difficult path, but in the end, we were successful. From the very beginning, all I wanted was to achieve the goals I set for myself via hard effort “he remarked.
Flo Rida’s attorney, John Uustal, issued a supplementary statement in which he said: “We said that we would have faith in the jury to make the proper judgment, that we would have faith in the result, and that we would accept the decision made by the jury. I am relieved that the jury came to the conclusion that Flo Rida should earn what he has fought for in this case.”
According to the lawsuit complaint, Dillard helped introduce Celsius to “millions throughout the globe” and played an “important role” in “launching a new era for the company’s brand development, growth, and expansion.” Both of these accomplishments are credited to Dillard.
Dillard’s legal team said that he did not get the compensation for his labor that was promised to him in the form of bonuses and stock options.
Dillard’s team also alleged that Celsius neglected to tell Dillard when critical sales objectives outlined in his contracts were accomplished, despite this being a requirement of the contracts.
When Celsius first began trading in 2014, one share of the company could be purchased for one dollar. According to Uustal, Dillard wanted the 1% ownership stake that he was given.
According to comments made by Uustal to Insider earlier this month, “In Flo’s perspective this was always a Vitamin Water sort of agreement,” which means that “he was signing on to 1% of the business of a multi-million dollar endorsement contract and was scarcely being paid anything for it.”
