Marie Osmond - Osmond Countersues Manager

MARIE OSMOND is countersuing her former agent for making "extortionist demands" by seeking $88,000 (£55,000) in commission after she sacked him.

Osmond's legal team claims P. Karl Engemann, who managed the star for 35 years, was dismissed on 23 October (09) for allegedly acting "in an inappropriate, improper manner and breaching his fiduciary duty to Marie."

Engemann, whose daughter Shawn is married to TV host Larry King, filed a lawsuit alleging he helped Osmond set up her lucrative Las Vegas shows with her brother Donny.

But now Osmond is fighting back and has filed her own papers, demanding $2 million (£1.25 million) from Engemann for the damages he allegedly caused her, according to files obtained by TMZ.com.

The documents say Engemann "tried to extort Osmond to pay more compensation to him... by defaming and disparaging Osmond to third parties."

Osmond alleges her former employee also ruined negotiations over a planned talk show and destroyed her Dancing With the Stars deal.