Jury awards rap artist Flo Rida $82.6M in lawsuit with Boca-based energy drink Celsius company
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A South Florida jury has awarded the rap artist, Flo Rida, $82.6 million in damages in his lawsuit against the makers of Celsius energy drinks.
Flo Rida, whose real name is Tramar Dillard, sued Celsius Holdings in 2021, alleging that the Boca Raton-based company had deprived him of tens of millions of dollars in profits by failing to live up to a co-branding endorsement deal.
"This was a long journey, but we prevailed," the singer said in a statement released Thursday. "From the start, I only wanted what I worked for, nothing more, nothing less. I was instrumental in the Celsius that you know and love today. When this journey began no one knew Celsius. I took Celsius all over the world through my videos, concerts, appearances, and social media.
"I have gained a new respect for the judicial system."
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The singer alleged that Celsius never notified him when sales of its drinks hit sales benchmarks that were supposed to trigger stock compensation and royalties for him. Joining him in the lawsuit were his Hialeah-based company, Strong Arm Productions USA, and D3M Licensing Group, a Wellington company that helped to arrange the endorsement deal in 2014.
Attorneys for Celsius argued that the specified sales benchmarks were never reached and that the company did not owe Dillard additional compensation.
The lawsuit sought damages for "breach of contract, accounting and unjust enrichment related to product endorsement services" provided by Dillard. The jury reached its decision Wednesday following a trial before Broward Circuit Court Judge David Haimes.
Flo Rida, now 43, is a Miami-Dade County native who has sold more than 80 million records worldwide since the release of his debut album in 2008.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rapper Flo Rida wins $82.6M in lawsuit against Celsius energy drinks
