Aguilera Sues Manager

By Stephen M. Silverman

10/23/1997 at 12:00 AM EDT

Christina Aguilera, 19, dragged her former manager, Steven Kurtz, into Los Angeles Superior Court last Friday, for what she terms "improper, undue and inappropriate influence" over her personal and professional life. Her lawsuit claims that her representation by Kurtz and his company, Marquee Management, "was a sham" designed to sway Aguilera into signing a 1999 management contract that gave Kurtz 20% of her entire "commissionable income." Yesterday, Kurtz issued a statement alluding that he may file a claim of his own and claiming that the Aguilera's suit "appears to be nothing other than a transparent and misguided attempt by Christina to avoid her financial and contractual obligations to me."