Operation Misery: Week 3, Day 5.

Yes that's right I didn't put myself through the pain barrier at the gym so I could slip straight back down again. So I'm up at a reasonable time so I can got to the gym again for a clean session.

In the meantime I should point out that yesterday the US went public with the news that 1970's soul icon Dionne Warwick has filed for bankruptcy. Although I've not seen the papers I believe Ms Warwick's claim centres around an unpaid income tax bill or more accurately the penalty fees and interest accrued on an income tax bill that was paid late. The timing of the announcement was clearly designed to co-incide with the hearing in Robyn Fenty V Berdon LLP that was heard in a Barbados Court on the same day.

The Berdon LLP hearing was actually simple. It was merely to allow the Court to decide whether counsel for Beardon LLP could travel to Barbados to take a deposition of evidence from Rihanna's mother Monica Braithwaite under the Hague convention rather than forcing Ms Braithwaite to travel to the US to give evidence. The Court ruled they can and offered Ms Braithwaite a date between April 2nd (2/4/13) and April 5th (5/4/13) or a date between April 10th (10/4/13) and April 12th (12/4/13) to give her deposition. As Chris Brown is scheduled to appear before a Los Angeles Court on April 5th I suggest Ms Braithwaite goes for the April 10th option.

It is really here that the connection between the two cases ends. That's because if it is ruled that Berdon LLP was justified in it's charging of fees then Rihanna had no taxable income for the period. However if it is ruled that those fees were unnecessary then Rihanna still has no taxable income until Berdon LLP pays it's debt so the US Inland Revenue Service (IRS) can't charge Rihanna fees or interest. When Berdon LLP come to pay their debt they simply pay off the IRS first and give Rihanna the remainder. Either way I don't see Rihanna taking home a huge amount of cash from this case.

It is worth pointing out though that Dionne Warwick is the aunt of the late Whitney Houston. Therefore the timing of the announcement is also intended to generate speculation about what Rihanna's future with Chris Brown will be like. The problem is that by doing this the US has revealed that it already knows exactly what will happen if it continues to protect Chris Brown and allows him to reunite with Rihanna. Therefore I think I speak for us all when I say we can wait until April 5th to see whether the US will do the right thing or the wrong thing.

After all if you've heard the latest details from the Atherton Dangerous Dogs Case about a young girl who loved music and loved to dance you would know that even the UK is trying to distance itself from the Rihanna/Chris Brown reunion.


11:00 on 27/3/13.