DOCUMENTS > Read the full lawsuit

SPOKANE -- It's hard to believe that a Spokane Valley restaurant could draw the ire of some of the biggest money makers in Hip hop.

But it has, and the plaintiffs want to get paid. To be precise they want "no more than $30,000 nor less than $750," according to the lawsuit.

The Flame, located at 2401 E. Sprague Ave., and its owners - Wang Restaurant Enterprises, Inc., is being sued by attorneys representing such artists as "Ludacris" and "50 Cent," alleging copyright infringement.

"Neither Defendants, nor any of the Defendants' agents, servants or employees, nor any performer was licensed by, or otherwise received permission from any Plaintiff or any agent, servant or employee of any Plaintiff to give such performances," reads the complaint, filed in Federal District Court on March 24.

"This is the first that we've heard about this lawsuit," said a manager at The Flame. "We won't comment on it until we've had a chance to review it."

The Seattle-based attorneys representing the artists could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit says despite numerous letters and other contacts by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), cover bands continue to perform copyrighted music without permission during business operations.

The songs in question include: "Rock the Boat," "Candy Shop," "Get Back," "Let's Talk About Sex," and "Informer."