Judie Worrell, widow of the late Bernie Worrell, founding keyboardist of Parliament-Funkadelic, told a Michigan federal judge on Friday that she should not face sanctions in an ongoing royalty dispute with bandleader George Clinton. She denied allegations of dishonesty related to a settlement agreement between her husband’s estate and Westbound Records, arguing that the agreement was irrelevant to the dispute.
The estate’s legal team contested claims that Judie Worrell had lied during her deposition. They argued she was never directly asked about the royalties her husband’s estate received from Westbound or about a December 2023 settlement agreement with the company. The estate stated that Clinton and his company, Thang Inc., had long been involved in contentious litigation with Westbound owner Armen Boladian, and that Clinton’s request for sanctions was an extension of that conflict. They also argued the sanctions request was an improper attempt to prolong the discovery process rather than support claims of bad faith.
