US hospital must pay $1M to Garth Brooks

CLAREMORE, Oklahoma (AP) — An Oklahoma hospital in Garth Brooks' hometown must pay $1 million to the country singer because it failed to build a women's health center in honor of his late mother, jurors ruled Tuesday evening.

Jurors ruled that the hospital must return a $500,000 donation to Brooks plus pay him $500,000 in punitive damages in Brooks' breach-of-contract lawsuit against IntegrisCanadian Valley Regional Hospital in Yukon. Brooks said he thought he'd reached a deal in 2005 with the hospital's president, James Moore, but sued after learning the hospital wanted to use the money for other construction projects.

The hospital argued that Brooks gave it unrestricted access to the money and only later asked that it build a women's center and name it after his mother, Colleen Brooks, who died of cancer in 1999.

"Obviously we are disappointed, particularly with the jury's decision to award damages above and beyond the $500,000," Integris spokesman Hardy Watkins said. "We're just glad to see the case come to a resolution."

Brooks called the jurors "heroes" and said he felt vindicated by their verdict.

"I no longer feel like I'm crazy," he said.

Jury member Beverly Lacy said she voted in favor of Brooks because she thought the hospital went back on its word. As far as the punitive damages, she said: "We wanted to show them not to do that anymore to anyone else."

During the trial, Brooks testified that he thought he had a solid agreement with Moore. Brooks said the hospital president initially suggested putting his mother's name on an intensive care unit, and when Brooks said that wouldn't fit her image, Moore suggested a women's center.

"I jumped all over it," Brooks told jurors in tearful testimony. "It's my mom. My mom was pregnant as a teenager. She had a rough start. She wanted to help every kid out there."

His attorney told the jury during closing arguments that Brooks kept his end of the agreement.

"This case is about promises: promises made and promises broken," lawyer John Hickey told jurors shortly before they started deliberating. "Mr. Brooks kept his promise. Integris never intended to keep their promise and never built a new women's center."

But hospital attorney Terry Thomas said Brooks' gift initially came in anonymously and unrestricted in 2005. He also noted that Brooks couldn't remember key details of negotiations with the hospital's president — including what he'd been promised — when questioned during a deposition after filing his lawsuit in 2009.

"At most, it was a misunderstanding between these two," Thomas told jurors during his closing argument. "Am I calling Mr. Brooks a liar? Absolutely not. It's perfectly understandable that he does not remember these events."

The jury began deliberating Tuesday afternoon in Rogers County District Court, and the judge told jurors she wanted them to work as late as midnight to come to a decision.

Before the verdict was read, Brooks said the day had been emotional. The country music star said he was simply trying to honor his mother.

View the original article here at Yahoo News!

Okla. hospital must pay $1M to Garth Brooks

CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) — An Oklahoma hospital that failed to build a women's health center in honor of Garth Brooks' late mother must pay the country singer $1 million, a jury has ruled.

Jurors on Tuesday evening ruled that the hospital must return Brooks' $500,000 donation plus pay him $500,000 in punitive damages. The decision came in Brooks' breach-of-contract lawsuit against Integris Canadian Valley Regional Hospital in Yukon. Brooks said he thought he'd reached a deal in 2005 with the hospital's president, James Moore, but sued after learning the hospital wanted to use the money for other construction projects.

Jury member Beverly Lacy said she voted in favor of Brooks because she thought the hospital went back on its word. As far as the punitive damages, she said: "We wanted to show them not to do that anymore to anyone else."

The hospital argued that Brooks gave it unrestricted access to the $500,000 donation and only later asked that it build a women's center and name it after his mother, Colleen Brooks, who died of cancer in 1999.

"Obviously we are disappointed, particularly with the jury's decision to award damages above and beyond the $500,000," Integris spokesman Hardy Watkins said. "We're just glad to see the case come to a resolution."

Brooks called the jurors "heroes" and said he felt vindicated by their verdict.

"I no longer feel like I'm crazy," he said.

During the trial, Brooks testified that he thought he had a solid agreement with Moore. Brooks said the hospital president initially suggested putting his mother's name on an intensive care unit, and when Brooks said that wouldn't fit her image, Moore suggested a women's center.

"I jumped all over it," Brooks told jurors in tearful testimony. "It's my mom. My mom was pregnant as a teenager. She had a rough start. She wanted to help every kid out there."

His attorney told the jury during closing arguments that Brooks kept his end of the agreement.

"This case is about promises: promises made and promises broken," lawyer John Hickey told jurors shortly before they started deliberating. "Mr. Brooks kept his promise. Integris never intended to keep their promise and never built a new women's center."

But hospital attorney Terry Thomas said Brooks' gift initially came in anonymously and unrestricted in 2005. He also noted that Brooks couldn't remember key details of negotiations with the hospital's president — including what he'd been promised — when questioned during a deposition after filing his lawsuit in 2009.

"At most, it was a misunderstanding between these two," Thomas told jurors during his closing argument. "Am I calling Mr. Brooks a liar? Absolutely not. It's perfectly understandable that he does not remember these events."

The jury began deliberating Tuesday afternoon in Rogers County District Court, and the judge told jurors she wanted them to work as late as midnight to come to a decision.

Before the verdict was read, Brooks said the day had been emotional. The country music star said he was simply trying to honor his mother.

"This little pistol, she deserves nothing but good," Brooks said.

View the original article here at Yahoo News!

Brooks, Jackson join Nashville Songwriters hall (AP)

By CHRIS TALBOTT, AP Entertainment Writer Chris Talbott, Ap Entertainment Writer – Sun Oct 16, 11:02 pm ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson have won more honors than they can count. The one they took home Sunday night was near the top of the list.

Brooks and Jackson were inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame along with top songsmiths John Bettis, Thom Schuyler and Allen Shamblin.

"It's the songwriter, that's what it's all about," Brooks said. "I mean this is it. We can talk all day about entertainer. We can talk all day about record sales. It starts with the songs. And to be confused as a songwriter, then honored as one, that's the bomb."

Jackson and Brooks are members of the so-called "Class of `89" group of country superstars. Their success over the last two decades helped push country music from the county fair to major arenas and football stadiums.

Brooks, inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City earlier this year, is the best-selling solo artist in U.S. history with more than 128 million albums sold. Songs like "If Tomorrow Never Comes" and "The Thunder Rolls" helped launch his career.

Jackson, who helped spearhead the new traditionalist movement in country, has 35 No. 1 country songs, including "Chattahoochee" and "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," which Taylor Swift sang for him Sunday.

"I've won a lot of awards but the songwriting thing has always been most important to me," Jackson said. "I've never thought of myself as much of a singer, so I've always fell back on my songwriting. It's the most creative part of the business. It all starts with the songs."

Jackson and Brooks were inducted as songwriter/artists. Brooks said straight songwriter inductees like Bettis ("Slow Hand," "Human Nature" and "Top of the World," Schuyler ("16th Avenue" and "Long Line of Love") and Shamblin ("The House That Built Me" and "I Can't Make You Love Me") are the real stars of the night.

"I can go in that room and show you the guys I hang out with, and all of them are songwriters," Brooks said. "And to be called that with these guys, because their talent is amazing, makes me very proud. I'm not saying I agree with it, but I'm very proud."

Kimberly Perry of family act The Band Perry won the Nashville Songwriters Association International song of the year for the breakthrough hit "If I Die Young." Chris DuBois, who co-wrote Brad Paisley hits "Old Alabama" and "Anything Like Me," was named songwriter of the year.

Swift won her fourth songwriter/artist of the year award in five years and at 21 remains the youngest winner of that award. Swift told the audience about her first big Nashville showcase at the age of 14 when many of the industry's most influential people were in attendance. She recalled saying to herself over and over "Don't mess this up."

"Ever since then there's been thousands of times in my life where I've said to myself, `Don't mess this up, don't mess this up, don't mess this up' — including right now," Swift said. "And I'm just going to keep going out there and trying not to mess this up."

___

Online:

http://www.nashvillesongwriters.com

Yahoo! News

Garth Brooks among 2011 Songwriters Hall inductees (AP)

NEW YORK – The Songwriters Hall of Fame has honored the likes of Garth Brooks, Leon Russell and Allen Toussaint at its annual gala in New York City.

Amid the famous faces, some of Thursday night's inductees weren't so familiar — that is, until you heard the songs they penned.

Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly might be able to walk the streets in anonymity, but they've written some famously catchy hits, including Madonna's "Like a Virgin," Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," Whitney Houston's "So Emotional," and The Pretenders "I'll Stand By You."

"It was pretty risque at the time," Kelly said of the Madonna song. "It took us about a month to finally, accidentally fall into what it ended up."

John Bettis, who wrote Madonna's hit, "Crazy For You," along with hit songs for the Carpenters, Diana Ross, and The Pointer Sisters, was another inductee. He wrote "Human Nature" for Michael Jackson, which Skylar Grey performed at the event.

Bill Medley, of The Righteous Brothers fame, was there to present Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil with the Johnny Mercer Award. The married duo wrote the mega-hit, "You Lost That Lovin' Feelin'."

"We were just lucky that they wrote that song for us," Medley said.

The song has had more than 14 million airplays, and still going strong.

As for the show, artists joined inductees on stage. Key performances included Dwight Yoakam performing "Superstar" with Russell; Boz Scaggs and Toussaint doing "What Do you Want the Girl to Do"; and Trisha Yearwood doing a Hal David Medley.

Chaka Khan sang Ashford and Simpson's "I'm Every Woman," and rapper Drake performed his hit, "Best I Ever Had."

Billy Joel inducted Brooks, and later performed a duet of Brooks 1991 hit, "Shameless," which was written by Joel. Brooks was ecstatic.

"You talk about songwriters, there's one of the greatest songwriters of all time," Brooks said of Joel. And he's taken a day out of his life to do this, I feel very lucky."

Joel loves the idea of other artist recording his material, but claims he never intended to be a rock star.

"I don't even like my own voice, I don't. I don't think I'm a good singer. I think I'm a good songwriter," Joel said.

Yahoo! News