Mario

R&B singer Mario's former manager Troy Patterson has responded to the singer's lawsuit by counter suing the 19-year-old's J Records company and his mother. Patterson is accused by the Mario of pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his phenomenal record sales, but Patterson insists he and his production company Third Street Music have not received any royalties they were not entitled to. He also insists he was responsible for developing the star's talent and protecting him from his allegedly drug-dependant mother. Patterson has asked New York City's Federal Court to declare Third Street's agreements valid, since J Records have been excluding him from the recording process, despite owning approval rights. J Records manager Mathew Knowles claims he should not be part of the suit, saying, "I wasn't involved with the recording process." Fellow manager Julias 'J' Erving, says, "We are not in the business of interfering. We just want to move forward and do good business with Mario."