Nelly Files Lawsuit Against Promoter; Reps Deny Assault Allegations

 The city of Branson, Missouri, just may not be ready for Hip-Hop. A problem-plagued concert that featured the St. Louis rapper is now the subject of a lawsuit, claiming Nelly is still owed $37,500 for his appearance.

Flush Touring Co. filed a lawsuit against Branson promoter Paul Dunn, claiming he never paid Nelly the remaining balance for a show in August of 2010, which was originally supposed to take place at the Grand Palace Theater.

According to the Saint Louis-Dispatch, both parties agreed that Nelly would be compensated $75,000 for his appearance in the parking lot of the Grand Palace.

The show was supposed to take place in the Grand Palace parking lot as the building was being renovated. But Dunn immediately encountered problems when Branson officials refused to issue the necessary permits for the show to take place outside.

Dunn claims that the show was moved to Mansion and that Nelly's reps agreed to discount his performance fee to $40,500, sparking the dispute which has ended up in court.

Dunn also claims the new lawsuit is to take the attention off of a lawsuit he filed last week, claiming Nelly's manager Abby Cole physically threatened him after the concert in Branson.

"Mr. Cole started asking me for $35,000 more before the concert was even finished," Dunn said. He also claimed that Nelly's manager and two others followed him to a restaurant and blocked his car with a vehicle.

"That's when Mr. Cole pulled this gangster scene right out of a Hollywood movie," Dunn said. "He kept telling me how I was going to get my (expletive) kicked. I wrote him a check just to get those guys out of there."

Dunn stopped payment on the check the next day. Nelly's business manager denied the allegations.

"I find it funny that Mr. Dunn is now talking with the press about this once he knew a lawsuit was going to be filed. What I know is his check bounced like a basketball," Chaffin said.