Bounce TV website

A man who claims he was frozen out of a deal that should have paid him millions from the recent sale of Bounce TV has sued Martin Luther King III, former Atlanta mayor and United Nations ambassador Andrew Young and his son, Andrew “Bo” Young III.

In a complaint filed Wednesday, Bernard Parks Jr. said he is owed an estimated $4.4 million from the recent sale of the network, which Scripps announced in August. Parks claims he and the defendants hold a collective 10 percent share in Bounce worth some $16 million, nearly a quarter of which belonged to Parks.

Parks received no response to his requests that the deal—which was not committed to writing—be acknowledged. Instead, he “received communication through a third party” that the defendants do not intend to pay him anything and will split the money between themselves, according to the lawsuit.

The Daily Report was unable to reach King or the elder Young Friday.

“We look forward to the opportunity to disprove Mr. Parks' false and meritless claims,” said Bo Young's attorney Bricker Daughtry of Athens' Fortson, Bentley and Griffin via email.

The complaint was filed by Wilson Brock & Irby attorneys Larry Dingle and Kyler Wise. Dingle declined to discuss the case, but Parks' spokesman, Jeff Dickerson, provided a statement saying Parks “has a history of consummating successful deals based on the trust and integrity of his partners, and would have expected nothing less from a close, lifelong friend.

“It is with great disappointment that he is forced to file suit against a person in whom he entrusted his family and his life,” Dickerson said.

According to the complaint, Parks and Bo Young were friends since childhood, and Parks is the godfather of Young's daughter.

Parks is a longtime Atlanta music promoter and manager who worked with such acts as Goodie Mob and production company Organized Noize, the complaint said.

Former Turner Broadcasting executive Ryan Glover set out to launch Bounce in 2011 as “a start-up television production company which was owned and controlled by African-Americans and which was created to provide broadcast television programming targeted and focused upon” the black community.

Glover and Parks were friends, and Parks became involved in the startup. As part of an effort to lure investors and provide “credibility,” Parks approached Young about having his father become a “founder” and board member. King was also approached, and the two agreed to become involved, the complaint said.

Parks and Bo Young “reached an oral agreement as a result of such discussions that after fairly and reasonably compensating” Ambassador Young and King, the two would split any remaining distributions “50-50.”

Because of Parks' “trust and confidence” in Young, he “did not feel the need for, did not request, and not obtain any written agreement setting forth their oral agreement,” the suit said.

“At some point prior to securing the needed capital investments for Bounce TV,” the defendants agreed to allow Bo Young's company, AY3, to hold their member interests “for various reasons,” according to the lawsuit. Among them was a purported agreement between King and his siblings, Dexter and Bernice King, to share any third-party payments, “principally because MLK III has the name of his father, civil rights leader Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.”

“Upon information and belief,” according to the complaint, allowing Young's company to hold the Bounce interest meant King “would not publicly appear to own any interest in Bounce TV from which distributions might have to be shared with [his] siblings.”

In order to “resolve any angst” Parks might feel, Glover also transferred 1 percent of Bounce to him, an “entirely private matter” that has nothing to do with his deal with the defendants, it said.

In July, Parks' former attorney sent a letter to the Youngs “recapping the agreement” and specified that, under its terms, Ambassador Young's foundation would receive 2 percent, King 2.5 percent; and the remaining 5.5 percent would be divided between Parks and Bo Young.

The Bounce sales is expected to be worth between $15 million and $16 million, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint includes counts for breach of contract, unjust enrichment and constructive trust against all three defendants, as well as breach of fiduciary duty promissory estoppel against Bo Young. It also seeks an injunction against the disbursal of the funds and asks that they be deposited in the court registry.

If King and the senior Young elect to take their respective percentages of 2.5 and 2 percent and waive any further claim to the money, they will be dropped as defendants, it said.