Well... the fat lady hasn't sung yet! This morning in a NY District court, Daniel Geller and Ryan Lewis (the KINDERCORE founders) filed suit against I.D.E.A. (aka The Telegraph Co). Not only is the company named in the lawsuit but the Kindercore General Manger and I.D.E.A. CEO. Why? Geller and Lewis are alleging breach of contract, libel, slander and other infractions against the company that purchased Kindercore in 2001. According to Geller the November announcement that Kindercore was closing came as a shock to him.

Read the full press release below...

KINDERCORE RECORDS FOUNDERS FILE SUIT AGAINST THE TELEGRAPH COMPANY, I.D.E.A. INC.

Kindercore Records founders Daniel Geller and Ryan Lewis today filed a lawsuit against I.D.E.A. (International Development of Entertainment Alliances), also known as The Telegraph Company, Kindercore General Manager Jerod Gunsberg and I.D.E.A. CEO Stanley Hartman for breach of contract, slander, libel, and a host of other infractions. (Supreme County of The State of New York, County of New York Index No. 03603716)

A strategic partnership formed in 2001 between the Kindercore label and Telegraph was intended to strengthen the label's administration and further the aesthetic and ideals that Geller and Lewis had established. The partnership quickly devolved over the 18 months that the relationship existed, culminating in the recent announcement that Kindercore was folding.

Geller states, "We were as surprised as anyone on November 12th to learn that Kindercore would be closing. We were also surprised on November 14th to find out the label was not closed and would now be run by Stan Harman who had previously stated to us that he wanted nothing to do with the creative side of running a record label".

In the beginning, Geller and Lewis expected that their partnership with Telegraph would allow them to continue guiding the artistic direction of Kindercore while also allowing more time for them to work on their own music. Geller and Lewis perform in bands on the Kindercore label - I Am The World Trade Center and The Agenda respectively.

Lewis says, "We're artists at heart and have always been about the music. We saw this partnership as a chance to keep the label going in the same artistic direction that we had established and to also uphold our commitments to our artists."

Instead, after the agreements were signed, Geller and Lewis began to see their roles at the label rapidly diminish, a situation that came to a head when Kindercore signed two bands that Geller and Lewis had passed on (in one case) and had never even heard (in the other). Compounding this lack of control over their own company, Geller and Lewis' own bands were then dropped from the label, a curious move considering that I Am The World Trade Center is the second biggest selling act on Kindercore.

"Since being in bands on the roster was essentially the last real connection we had with the label we started, we had no other choice but to await further news on the future of Kindercore", Geller says. "At this point, we're very concerned for the bands that are still associated with Kindercore."

Lewis elaborates, stating that he and Geller are doing "everything we can to bring a quick resolution to this situation. Bringing this legal action was the last thing we wanted to do, but we felt it was the only thing we could do to help the friends and artists who had faith in us when we entered into this arrangement with Telegraph."

Quinn Heraty, of the law firm Heraty Hall, is representing the plaintiffs. A legal fund has been established to help offset the costs associated with furthering this action. Please visit www.heratyhall.com/kindercore for more information on how to contribute.