Funk legend Sly Stone has been awarded $5 million in unpaid royalties. Per The Guardian, in a lawsuit filed back in 2010 under his given name is Sylvester Stewart, Stone claimed that his manager Gerald Goldstein and lawyer Glenn Stone urged him to sign an “employment and shareholder agreement” with a company called Even St. Productions. The agreement allegedly diverted funds from Stone, who asserts that he wasn’t paid between 1989 and 2000.

The defense claimed that Stone knew about the contract but broke it in order to record new music. But the jury found in Stone’s favor, awarding Stone one-tenth of his original $50 million suit. Even St. Productions will pay $2.5 million in damages, Goldstein $2.45 million, and attorney Glenn Stone $50,000.

Winning this case feels essential for Stone, as recent reports characterize his current living situation as basically homeless, living in an RV in east Los Angeles. Stone also had something of a meltdown at his Coachella appearance in 2010. But an event called “‘Love City,’ A Convention Celebrating Sly & The Family Stone” was held just last weekend in Oakland to celebrate his iconic status. With his band Sly And The Family Stone, Stone was an integral part of fusing rock, psychedelia, soul and funk during the late sixties and early seventies. Hopefully his new funds will help him settle back into the groove.

[Photo By Tim Mosenfelder/Getty.]