Friday, Oct. 11, 2002 | 11:18 a.m.
A federal judge ordered singer Rod Stewart, his company Stewart Annoyances Ltd. and his attorneys to return a prepaid $2 million fee after they were found to have breached an agreement to perform at a scheduled Dec. 30, 2000, concert at The Rio hotel-casino in Las Vegas.
The Rio, owned by Harrah's Entertainment Inc., filed breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims last March against Stewart, his company and his law firm, Armstrong Hirsch Jackoway Tyerman & Werthemier, to recover the prepaid fee after Stewart breached the contract by failing to perform.
Stewart's attorneys argued the agreement excused Stewart, who then was recovering from surgery for thyroid cancer, from performing that day and entitled him to reschedule his performance to a later date.
But U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks denied the defendants' claims, saying Stewart could only reschedule the concert if he accepted an offer to perform a Dec. 31, 2000, concert along with other requirements. Hicks found Stewart did not schedule a Dec. 31, 2000, concert.
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