Chris Daughtry Sued By Former Bandmates

Chris Daughtry | Photo Credits: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Chris Daughtry | Photo Credits: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Chris Daughtry has been sued by his former bandmates over royalties, North Carolina's Charlotte Observer reports.

According to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Guilford County Superior Court, Ryan Andrews, Scott Crawford and Mark Perry claim they're owed money on four of Daughtry's songs they say they wrote together, including the hit "Home."

Watch clips of Chris Daughtry in our Online Video Guide

The foursome formed the band Absent Element in 2004 and, according to the suit, agreed that Daughtry's audition for Season 5 of American Idol would help the band. Absent Element's final performance was in June 2006, a month after Daughtry finished fourth on Idol. He went on to form his own band, Daughtry. The group's self-titled debut album was released in late 2006 and sold about 6 million copies. Daughtry's currently the third-highest grossing Idol alum after Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

Check out more of today's news

"All four members wrote music and lyrics for Absent Element's songs, collaborated on the arrangement and recording of those songs, regularly consulted with each other on matters relating to the business of the band, and made partnership decisions based on majority votes," the lawsuit states.

Daughtry denied the allegations Friday and said he was "very hurt" by the "false accusations." "The songs listed in this lawsuit were written solely by me and no one else," he said in a statement.