Calvin Harris secures first legal win against ex business manager

Calvin Harris has secured a $13.5 million payout, around £10 million, in a legal dispute with his former business manager Thomas St John.

An arbitrator has ruled that St John must repay the Scottish DJ a property related loan along with accumulated interest.

The EDM star claimed that St John took advantage of their financial arrangement to bankroll what was described as a real estate boondoggle, a term used in the US to describe a project seen as wasteful or unnecessary.

Harris began arbitration proceedings last summer, arguing that in 2023 St John improperly diverted $22 million, roughly £16 million, from his accounts into a proposed Hollywood recording studio and office development known as CMNTY Culture Campus.

That development never progressed beyond the planning stage and has since fallen into foreclosure.

St John has rejected Harris’ allegations as “categorically false” and insists the musician knowingly agreed to invest in the project.

However, retired federal judge Michael R Wilner, who is overseeing the matter through confidential arbitration, determined that St John clearly failed to repay the loan by the agreed deadline.

Separately, St John’s future in the management world appears uncertain. The US branch of his firm, the Thomas St John Group, filed for bankruptcy last year and is now in the process of selling off its remaining assets.

Beyond the Harris case, fellow EDM artist Eric Prydz filed a lawsuit against St John in November, accusing him of taking $269,000, about £200,000, in unauthorised commissions.

St John has dismissed those allegations as “wholly fabricated”.

Calvin Harris is best known for his run of global electronic and pop hits, including We Found Love, Summer and One Kiss with Dua Lipa.