PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – A High Court judge in Trinidad and Tobago has ordered Soca artiste Patrice Roberts to pay her former Canadian-based management company more than US$30,000 for services it provided while briefly managing her career.

Justice Robin Mohammed ruled that Soca Bookings Incorporated was entitled to compensation for services rendered to the 40-year-old artiste between 2015 and 2017, despite shortcomings in its contractual claim.

The judge found that the company was entitled to US$35,472, which represents reasonable compensation for the management services it provided and cash advances made on Roberts’ behalf to help further her career, plus interest.

But he found that the Ontario-based company owed her US$10,367.88, which represents the proceeds of the digital sales of her music that it collected while managing her, plus interest.

A separate claim for US$11,600 linked to a music video shoot was dismissed after the court found insufficient evidence that the expenditure had been incurred.

The dispute arose out of an oral management agreement reached in February 2015, under which the company provided what it described as full artiste management services, including bookings, branding, recording arrangements and international promotion.

While both sides agreed that a contract existed, the High Court found that key terms were never clearly settled, particularly whether management fees were immediately payable or only after the venture became profitable.

Justice Mohammed accepted Roberts’ position that fees were to be deferred until profitability was achieved, something the company failed to prove.

“The management fees were only payable once the venture became profitable and the Claimant has not established…that that threshold was ever reached,” Justice Mohammed ruled noting that the Soca artiste “ retained all financial benefits… and in those circumstances cannot in equity be permitted to benefit from the Claimant’s work without compensating it”.

Both parties were also awarded pre-judgment interest and legal costs with the judge indicating that the sums may be set off, which would result in Roberts paying a reduced balance of US$25,104.12 along with TT$26,983.71 in costs.

In his ruling, Justice Mohammed warned about the risks of informal agreements in the entertainment industry, noting that the dispute could likely have been avoided if the parties had formalised their arrangement in writing.