Madonna to be dismissed from film investor’s suit

A local movie investor has agreed to dismiss pop singer Madonna from a lawsuit that accuses a film production company she founded of failing to repay his loans. Madonna’s dismissal from the federal suit is part of a settlement agreement outlined in court papers filed Thursday. Financial terms of the settlement aren’t disclosed in the filing. Madonna’s lawyers have said she wasn’t involved in any of the contracts that Baton Rouge investor Jay Dykes Jr. allegedly signed with Maverick Films. Dykes’ suit claims Maverick Films failed to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans or give him producer credits for movies he says he helped finance. Madonna and her manager, Guy Oseary, founded Maverick Films in 2001, but she later divested her stake in the company. Oseary, who also was named as a defendant in the suit, has argued that the Baton Rouge court doesn’t have jurisdiction over the case. A federal judge hasn’t signed off on the settlement agreement yet. Lawyers for Dykes and the defendants didn’t immediately respond to calls for comment today. Dykes’ suit claims he was promised a co-producer credit for the film Material Girls, which starred Hilary Duff and Anjelica Huston, and an executive producer credit plus a share of profits for The Stanford Prison Experiment. Dykes also claims producers used Madonna and Oseary’s names to entice him into investing in Maverick’s films.