Terrence Howard hit with lawsuit by former managers

Terrence Howard's former managers have filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the actor.
Bosses at Authentic Talent and Literary Management filed a complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging the 47-year-old "Empire" star, who hired the agency in 2013, has failed to pay thousands of dollars in commissions.
Howard has since fired the firm, but according to Authentic bosses, he agreed to pay them post-termination commission fees in a 2014 email, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In the legal documents, Authentic most notably played a crucial role in helping the actor land his starring role in hit TV drama "Empire."

He signed a seven-year contract for the show, and Authentic executives assert they are entitled to 10 per cent of his earnings for the duration of the contract, which will expire in 2020.
The lawsuit stated: "Authentic Talent played a key role in the resurgence of Howard's career.

"In addition to defending Howard and providing professional, personal, and other advice and career guidance to him, along with Howard's talent agents at the preeminent talent agency CAA, Plaintiff was an integral part of many discussions with Howard that led to his acceptance of the starring role of 'Lucious Lyon' on EMPIRE that had previously been procured for him by (talent agency) CAA."

The specific amount executives are seeking is unclear.
Howard's new legal trouble comes days after he dodged another court battle also related to "Empire."
A former gangster-turned-author served Howard and show creator Lee Daniels with a USD 10 million lawsuit, claiming they stole the idea for "Empire" from his biography, "Bigger Than Big."
Last week, a US District Court judge dismissed the suit, ruling there was no direct similarity between the plot of "Empire" and the author's life, and any elements of similarity were unprotectable under copyright law.