Related articles and links |  1 of 3

The Imperials, one of Christian music's most popular singing groups in the 1970s and early '80s, are currently embroiled in a complex legal battle over who owns the group's name — and who gets to reap the profits from that name.

Armond Morales, who in 1964 cofounded the group that went on to win four Grammys and 13 Dove Awards, and his wife, Bonnie, are being sued for the Imperials name by a younger group that includes Armond's son, Jason Morales.

That younger group — four singers who say they're now the "real" Imperials — claims that when the elder Morales signed an assignment of trademark in 2005, he transferred ownership of the name to the four singers in the current lineup.

Armond Morales, 75, told Christianity Today he did not consult an attorney before signing the assignment, and now says he was pressured into signing away more than he bargained for, and perhaps more than he owned the rights to.

"They have set out to really put me out of business and have no connection with the Imperials, which was my life," Morales said. "I've been devastated by this."

The younger group filed a lawsuit in June 2007. Armond's attorneys drafted a countersuit in September 2007, claiming that the younger group fraudulently got him to sign the 2005 agreement. But the elder Morales said he decided to drop the countersuit due to financial limitations.

A Nashville judge ordered the two sides to mediation in hopes that they would settle out of court.

Luke Anderson, an attorney representing the younger group, said he believes the case will end up in court later this year. Anderson said his clients "remain wishful [for a settlement], but also skeptical that this matter will settle at this point."

CT obtained a copy of the 2005 assignment of trademark agreement, which not only stipulates that the elder Morales would pass the Imperials name on to the younger group, but also that he would give up his right, title, and interest to the Imperials trademark.

The 2007 lawsuit seeks to have Armond Morales stop using the name "the Classic Imperials" — a name that he and other singers have used in performances in recent years. The younger group also wants Armond to hand over any money he's earned with the Classic Imperials.

The younger group is suing the elder Morales under the corporation name of MOSH, an acronym derived from their last names (Jason Morales, Ian Owens, Shannon Smith, and Jeremie Hudson). Even though he is a 25-percent shareholder in MOSH, Jason Morales, 35, told CT, "I have legally rescinded myself from the business part of it," implying that he's not taking an active part in the lawsuit against his father.

Jason Morales deferred further questions to business partner Smith.

"We're suing [Armond Morales] because he's not keeping his word," Smith said. "He's hurting our business on a regular basis. We felt like we were forced to start litigation or shut the group down."

Smith said it boils down to the 2005 agreement: "Our whole standing to be the Imperials is rooted in the assignment of trademark that Mr. Morales signed."

Armond Morales says the younger group verbally told him he could sing using the Classic Imperials name, but that stipulation was never included in the 2005 written agreement.

Armond told CT that MOSH does not want him to claim to have won Grammy and Dove Awards that the Imperials won as a group between 1969 and 1984. The younger group now makes that claim, even though none of them were members of the group at the time. The younger group also now bills itself as a "Gospel Music Hall of Fame Inductee," even though none of the current members were with the Imperials at that induction a decade ago.

next page... |  1 of 3

February (Web-only) 2008, Vol. 52