Funk legend Sly Stone received US$5 million after a Superior Court jury in LA sided with him over the breach-of-contract suit he filed against his former manager Gerald Goldstein, lawyer Glenn Stone and Even St. Productions Ltd, over allegations that they cheated him out of his royalty payments.

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"It's a good day for Sly, it's a good day for entertainers in general," Nicholas Hornberger, one of Stone's lawyers said.

Born Sylvester Stewart, Stone was the lead of the singing group Sly and the Family Stone, whose many hits in the 1960s and 1970s included "Everyday People," ''Dance To The Music" and "Family Affair." Nevertheless, Stone's career tumbled over heavy drug use. Stone was already on the verge of poverty when Goldstein and Glenn Stone offered him employment and co-ownership of Even St. Productions in 1989, which guaranteed him royalty rights.

Goldstein and Stone's lawyer, Gregory Bodell, meanwhile, said that Stone approached the two in the hopes of getting his career revitalized, promising them that he was going to make a comeback record that never materialized.

Bodell further explained that clients never wanted any royalties from him because for the first place, he own the IRS millions of dollars.

Sly Stone, meanwhile, alleged that no royalty payment was made to him by Goldstein and company fom 1989 until 2000.

According to Bodell, his clients tried to pay off Stone's backlog with the IRS, renegotiated royalty issues with record companies which earned for him approximately US$9 million in around two decades.

Jurors ordered Even St. Productions to pay Sly Stone $5 million. Furthermore, Goldstein was ordered to settle the amount of US$2.45 million, while Glenn Stone should settle with him US$50,000.

Bodell, however, said that they will challenge the jury's assessment.

It is even doubted if Even St. Productions could pay for the settlement given that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2013. 

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