Henry Rollins and DreamWorks SKG filed a multi-million

dollar lawsuit against Imago Records Monday claiming fraud, deceit, undue

influence and economic coercion on the part of Imago Records, the label owned

by former Chrysalis Records co-owner Terry Ellis. The new suit alleges that

Imago treats artists like "chattel" and "coerced and induced" Rollins into

signing an "unfair and inequitable [eight album] agreement." Rollins alleges

that he was forced to sign publishing and spoken word agreements in order to

get a deal for his "musical performances." Additionally, the complaint states

that though the Bertelsmann Music Group that funded and distributed Imago

severed ties with the boutique label on Dec. 31, 1994, Terry Ellis "made

millions of dollars at the expense of [Imago artists] and BMG." In a lawsuit

filed this past March and then amended in June, Imago and Ellis claim that the

David Geffen/Stephen Spielberg/Jeffrey Katzenberg-owned DreamWorks label

induced Rollins to break his contract with Imago and sign with them. They're

asking for $40 million from DreamWorks. Rollins, the former lead singer for

Black Flag, has a successful career as both a spoken word and rock artist. He

oversees a flourishing book publishing company and also releases albums on his

own label.