Chance the Rapper Wins Lingering Legal Fight With Ex-Manager: ‘Owed Him Loyalty’ — SkimNews
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- Pat Corcoran must forfeit compensation potentially exceeding $1.5 million under a 28-page ruling by Cook County Circuit Court Judge James E. Hanlon Jr., resolving the breach of fiduciary duty claim left over from Bennett's March jury trial win
- Judge Hanlon found Corcoran's merchandise company took commissions from Chance the Rapper's own vendors on the rapper's own orders, calling it "a secret profit" — but confined the disloyalty to the merchandise business rather than Corcoran's broader outside ventures
- Chance the Rapper (Chancelor Bennett) had sought punitive damages and forfeiture of nearly all $10 million Corcoran earned managing his music, touring and merchandise; the judge rejected that sweep, ruling that stripping all compensation would hand Bennett "a windfall"
- The judge ordered Corcoran to transfer ownership of the domain name chancraps.com — registered in Corcoran's own name in 2013 and retained through five years of litigation despite Bennett's efforts to reclaim it
- A spokesperson for Corcoran told Rolling Stone "the court ruled there is no basis for Chance's claim of more than $10 million in damages" and pointed to the ruling's language that Corcoran "performed years of valuable work that Bennett accepted and profited from"
Why it matters: Chance the Rapper walks away with a court-confirmed breach-of-fiduciary-duty finding and the branded domain he's fought five years to recover, but the judge capped Corcoran's forfeiture at roughly $1.5 million — far short of the ~$10 million Bennett pursued — meaning Corcoran keeps the bulk of his decade of management earnings while losing only the merchandise commissions and the domain.
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