*A judge in Dublin has ordered Prince, 51, to pay $2.95 million to Irish concert promoters for canceling a 2008 concert at the last minute.
High Court Justice Peter Kelly said Friday he was making the total damages public because Prince has yet to pay anything to Dublin promoters MCD Productions Ltd. in their confidential settlement reached Feb. 26, reports the Associated Press.
Kelly ruled that Prince had signed a contract to play Dublin’s 82,300-seat Croke Park in June 2008, but pulled out without explanation just days beforehand, after 55,000 tickets were sold.
Kelly said Friday his order was specifically against Prince, not his agents from the William Morris agency, who were absolved of liability.
MCD, Ireland’s biggest concert organizers, said it had paid Prince half of his demanded $3 million fee up front, another $950,000 to book Croke Park for the night, advertised the concert aggressively and refunded all 55,000 tickets.
During last month’s court hearing, William Morris agent Marc Geiger testified that he rarely spoke to Prince directly and found him one of his toughest clients to understand or nail down.
Geiger said he told Prince of the fury that the singer was causing MCD owner Denis Desmond during a rare face-to-face meeting in Los Angeles on June 3, 2008. He quoted Prince as replying, “Tell the cat to chill. We will work something out.”
Prince did not testify at last month’s hearing. If the Artist Formerly Known as a Symbol doesn’t pay up soon, MCD lawyer Maurice Collins said he may pursue the money using a more powerful European Enforcement Order.
All of this follows news this week that Prince owes over $450,000 in state taxes to Minnesota
