MOG founder sues Beats Electronics for $20M ahead of rumored Apple acquisition

Founder of now shuttered music service MOG David Hyman is suing Beats Electronics for upwards of $20 million, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday.

Hyman joined Beats after the company purchased the MOG streaming music service back in 2012, which eventually evolved into the current Beats Music service. Hyman said he was fired after trying to get rid of a “problematic” employee a bit less than a year after the MOG acquisition.

Under Hyman’s contract, Beats agreed to pay him 2.5 percent of current equity — with 1 percent of that due after his first year with the company. However, since he was fired before that time, Hyman never got that equity.

The lawsuit comes a week after news broke that Apple was rumored to be in final discussions to acquire Beats for $3.2 billion. And while neither Apple nor Beats has confirmed the rumor, it makes sense that Hyman would want take action in the event that Beats changes hands. (Also, Apple’s lawyers have to be much harder to go up against than Beats’.)

Via The Wrap