Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White has blasted a lawsuit accusing him of failing to pay royalties to his late producer pal Charles Stepney for the past four decades.
The late musician's children launched legal action against White in March (12), citing an alleged oral agreement in which the soul singer reportedly agreed to hand over a portion of the band's profits from their collaborations to the producer, who died in 1976.
However, White has now fired back at the claims, insisting there was no such deal in place at the time of Stepney's death, adding that Earth, Wind & Fire paid the producer in full for his work at the time of the recordings, which included hits such as Shining Star and Devotion.
White is also questioning the estate executors for taking the issue to court when neither Stepney nor his late wife chose to sue over the claims, according to Tmz.com.