Maverick City Music Did Not Coerce Co-Founder’s Buyout Deal, Judge Rules in Lawsuit

A judge has rejected allegations from Maverick City Music co-founder Tony Brown that the Grammy-winning worship collective strong-armed him into signing an unfavorable buyout agreement.

That finding came as part of a court ruling on Tuesday (Feb. 10) that dismissed, for now, Brown’s Atlanta-based lawsuit over his 2023 exit from Maverick City. Judge Paige Reese Whitaker ruled that the claims must be brought in New York, not Georgia, under the exclusive jurisdiction clause in Brown’s buyout deal.

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Brown had argued that the New York jurisdiction clause was invalid because he was unfairly coerced into signing onto the terms. Specifically, Brown alleged that Maverick City’s CEO, Norman Gyamfi, hired Louis Burrell, a music industry veteran and the brother of MC Hammer, to threaten him with a “character assassination” and mountains of debt unless Gyamfi’s preferred deal got signed.

Maverick City and its holding company, Insignia Assets, have vehemently denied these allegations as “baseless.” Judge Whitaker agreed with the group on Tuesday, writing in her dismissal ruling that Brown’s buyout agreement was “freely negotiated” by “competent counsel” on both sides.

“Mr. Brown retained counsel to assist him and received a substantial payment in connection with the Insignia agreement,” wrote the judge. “Any effort to void the agreement is counter to Georgia law.”

Erik Gaines, the chief strategy officer of Insignia, said in a Tuesday statement that the company is “pleased with today’s ruling, which dismissed Mr. Brown’s publicized claims and enforced the negotiated agreement.” Brown’s claims are not gone for good, however, as he still has the option to re-file them in New York. His lawyer, Gary Freed, told Billboard on Wednesday (Feb. 11) that they’re still deciding whether to bring the claims in New York, appeal Judge Whitaker’s order, or both.

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“We’re disappointed in the order,” said Freed. “We’re disappointed that this court took 14 months to rule on a motion to dismiss, which increased our client’s attorney fees immensely. We disagree with it.”

Brown co-founded Maverick City in 2018 alongside Jonathan Jay. The Atlanta-based music collective has gone on to win five Grammy Awards and top Billboard‘s Christian and gospel charts with collaborations between singers like Chandler Moore, Naomi Raine and Brandon Lake.

Gyamfi joined Maverick City as a part-owner and executive around 2021 and helped grow Maverick City’s Christian music empire. He eventually bought out Brown for an undisclosed amount in 2023.

But Brown sued Gyamfi and Insignia in 2024, claiming they’d never completed a series of promised installment payments from the buyout deal. Brown later added racketeering claims that alleged the agreement had been illegally coerced.

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Maverick City, meanwhile, countersued Brown at the end of 2025 for allegedly violating a non-compete clause in the buyout by launching a new Christian music project called God Aura. Those claims remain pending in New York.

All this comes as Maverick City is roiling from the recent departure of Moore, a flagship member of the group, and ensuing litigation on that front as well.

Moore sued Maverick City in October, claiming Gyamfi had stolen his royalties. The group denied this and alleged in return that Moore had failed to fulfill his contract before exiting. Moore got the all-clear signal from a judge last week (Feb. 5) to release solo music while the dispute plays out.