newsmakers

March 21, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

newsmakers

Lady Gaga fires back in court at producer

NEW YORK

Lady Gaga is firing back at a music producer who claims he launched her career and is suing her.

Her lawyer said in a court filing made public Friday the agreement at the heart of the suit was “unlawful.”

Songwriter and music producer Rob Fusari filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Manhattan against the Grammy Award-winning performer. He said his prot g and former girlfriend, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, ditched him as her career soared.

The lawsuit said they co-wrote songs such as “Paparazzi” and “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich.” Fusari also said he came up with her stage name and helped get her record deal.

But Lady Gaga lawyer Charles Ortner wrote in his response that the arrangement was “structured in such a way as to mask its true purpose — to provide to the defendants unlawful compensation for their services as unlicensed employment agents.”

Ortner wrote that Fusari and his company violated statutes that prohibited them from “acting as employment agents without a license and charging Lady Gaga an unlawful fee for their purported services.”