Bakewell Media of Louisiana, owned by developer and Los Angeles newspaper owner Danny Bakewell Sr. and his son, allege in the lawsuit filed in Orleans Parish Civil District Court Wednesday that Equity Media still owes it more than $100,000 for the purchase of the radio station and accumulated rent.
Equity Media is owned by New Orleans businessman and former mayoral candidate Troy Henry, who partnered in 2019 with actor Wendell Pierce, media executive Jeff Thomas, and public relations entrepreneur Cleveland Spears to buy WBOK, a storied local media outlet that first broadcast on Jan 1, 1951.
The lawsuit said the four partners had agreed to close the deal on Jan. 1, 2020, paying a total of $550,000 for WBOK and agreeing to pay $3,000 a month rent for the studio.
The new owners paid $400,000 cash and agreed to pay the balance with interest on Apr 1, 2021. The lawsuit says they only paid half the balance when it came due and asked for a six-month extension to pay the rest, but failed to pay when it was due on Oct 1.
It also alleges that the partners paid less than a third of the total of $30,000 rent that was due on the Gentilly studio by the time WBOK moved to its new studio at Xavier University in May 2021.
The lawsuit also claims the Gentilly studio "was left in disarray," when they departed, with discarded furniture and equipment that the partners had purchased as well as trash left on the premises.
Bakewell's lawyer, Bernard Charbonnet, said the lawsuit was a last resort. "He's at the end of his forbearance and he's tried everything short of a lawsuit. So here we are in court," Charbonnet said.
Wendell Pierce and Jeff Thomas said the lawsuit is much ado about very little.
"We just need to get a bunch of guys in a room and we'll sort it out in short order," said Thomas, who added that part of the reason for the delay in settling the balance is a dispute about the value of the assets at the time of purchase. "He's claiming we owe him things we don't."
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