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Chris Daughtry Sued By Former Bandmates Over Royalties

Former Absent Element members claim Daughtry owes them royalties over four songs they wrote together.

Chris Daughtry is headed to court in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he will face off against three of his former bandmates in a royalties dispute. Ryan Andrews, Scott Crawford and Mark Perry, who were in the band Absent Element with Daughtry before the chrome-domed rocker went on to national fame on "American Idol" in 2006, filed suit against the singer in Guilford County Superior Court on Thursday, according to The Charlotte Observer.

The men claim that Daughtry defrauded them out of royalties for four songs that they say feature music and lyrics they wrote together. The lawsuit accuses Daughtry of, "constructive fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, unfair trade practices, and other deceptive and wrongful conduct."

In the lawsuit, the three men claim, "All four members wrote music and lyrics for Absent Element's songs, collaborated on the arrangement and recording of those songs, regularly consulted with each other on matters relating to the business of the band, and made partnership decisions based on majority votes."

The "Home" singer, who placed fourth on season five of "Idol" and has gone on to a platinum-selling career as the leader of the hard rock group bearing his last name, responded to the suit with a posting on the Daughtry website.

"I am very hurt by these false accusations," he wrote. "The songs listed in this lawsuit were written solely by me and no one else and at this time, I have no further comment."

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