Leibovitz accused anew of not paying her bills

[April 20, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Photographer Annie Leibovitz is facing new accusations of balking at bills, less than a month after she struck a deal intended to resolve financial problems that had risked her rights to some of pop culture's most famous images.

Investment firm Brunswick Capital Partners LP said in a lawsuit filed Friday that Leibovitz owes more than $800,000 in fees for its help arranging her recent financing agreement with another firm, Colony Capital LLC. Through a spokesman, Leibovitz declined to comment Monday.

New York-based Brunswick said it "made exhaustive efforts" to link Leibovitz with investors who could help her out of a financial hole that had threatened to cost her control of her life's work.

Leibovitz has photographed figures ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Queen Elizabeth during her 40-year career. Sometimes theatrical, often provocative, her work includes such famous images as a nude and very pregnant Demi Moore, and a nude John Lennon cuddling with a clothed Yoko Ono hours before his death.

Designated a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, she made but mismanaged a fortune. By last summer, she was struggling to repay a $24 million loan, with her three historic Manhattan townhouses and the copyright to all her pictures on the line.

"As a result of its diligent efforts, Brunswick Capital successfully found several interested and viable investors" -- including Colony, according to the lawsuit, filed in a Manhattan state court.

Santa Monica, Calif.-based Colony agreed last month to help manage Leibovitz's debt and market her portfolio. She retained total control of her work in the deal, which Brunswick Capital says is worth more than $40 million. Colony declined to comment.

The lawsuit seeks more than $803,000.

[Associated Press; By JENNIFER PELTZ]

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