Anita Baker, Grammy Award-winning singer, is facing an arrest warrant issued by a Detroit judge for allegedly failing to pay dues worth $15,000 toward work done on her Grosse Pointe home in Michigan, reports TMZ.
While the lawyers for Ray A. Smith Painting & Decorating, the company to which Baker reportedly owes the money, have alleged that the singer was sued in 2011, the singer's lawyer Jamal Hamood said he is planning to file a motion for the cancellation of the warrant. Currently, Baker is out of town and her lawyer says that she will remain so until the warrant is cancelled.
Baker told TMZ that she hired the company in 2009 for repair jobs due to storm damage. The total bill for the job was $75,000 and she made an advance payment worth $60,000.
The 56-year-old singer, who won a Grammy for her single "Sweet Love," said she did not pay the remaining $15,000 as the contractor did an awful job, which she had to complete herself. While the contractor left the job incomplete, he filed a suit for the remaining amount.
Although Baker claims that she did not know that a case had been filed against her, saying she never received any legal papers, her non-appearance in court led the judge to issue the arrest warrant.
Baker told TMZ, "I've never been in trouble with the law. I'm terrified."
She said this wasn't the first time she's run into someone claiming to serve her with legal papers and then losing the case by default.
"There's no justice in the justice system," she said.
The company's lawyer, Daniel Gerow, said he doesn't want Baker to go to jail, but only wants to see his client get paid.
