Beats Electronics sued by former MOG CEO David Hyman for $20 million

"Money problems" might not be the first thing on Beats Electronics' mind following the reports of a deal to purchase the company by Apple worth $3.2 billion. However, the company will soon be dealing with a $20 million lawsuit from one of its former executives, and that ain't cheap.

David Hyman is a "serial entrepreneur" who's been involved with a number of high-profile music companies, including working as CEO at Gracenote and inventing the MOG music service. He worked shortly as a CEO for Beats before being fired in a plot to deprive him of partial ownership of the company he would be contractually owed. He was due to receive up to 2.5 percent of the company as incentive for his work, and the first 1 percent was due at his first anniversary as CEO in May 2013. The deal stemmed from Beats' purchase of MOG during 2012.

However, the company fired Hyman due to his "attempt to terminate a problematic employee" (from Billboard's report). The CEO had only worked seven months with Beats, and the media seemed surprised at his departure. Still, it was reported that Hyman had stepped down (versus being fired) and he posted a relatively sunny paragraph on his Facebook feed the day of.

"MOG... my child, it's been a long great journey. But like Sting said, 'If you love something, set it free.' You're in good hands at Beats. I'm looking forward to my first real break since 1994. Nepal? Kauai? Taking a year off. Do not disturb."

The ploy Hyman alleges Beats of seems realistic enough, but his 2012 comments add confusion to the suit. Stay tuned for details.