Chris Brown countersues man over studio fight

[November 08, 2013]  LOS ANGELES (AP) --  Chris Brown has countersued a man who accused the R&B star's entourage of attacking him outside a recording studio earlier this year.

The singer filed an assault and battery lawsuit Wednesday against Sha'keir Duarte, who claimed in an earlier suit that he was injured when a fight erupted between Brown and Frank Ocean's entourages in January outside a West Hollywood studio.

Duarte sued Brown in August and accused the singer of being the aggressor in the fight. Brown's countersuit however accuses Duarte of instigating the fight by pushing, kicking and punching the R&B singer and threatening to kill him.

Brown, 24, is seeking unspecified damages.

Duarte's attorney Joseph Porter III did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

No criminal charges were filed over the fight, but Brown may face criminal penalties after he was arrested last month in Washington, D.C. for allegedly punching a man outside a hotel.

Brown remains on probation for his 2009 attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna and is due for a hearing in Los Angeles on Nov. 20, during which the new case may be addressed. Brown spent a day and a half in custody and faces a misdemeanor battery charge over the incident.

The R&B singer entered rehab for anger management issues on Oct. 29.

[Associated Press]

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