The promoter of R. Kelly’s tours has been ordered to pay rapper Ne-Yo more than $700,000 for allegedly breaching a contract regarding a series of concerts featuring the entertainers.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey signed a $700,320 default judgment against Rowe Entertainment for failing to respond to the lawsuit.

Ne-Yo, whose real name is Shaffer Smith, alleged in a lawsuit filed Dec. 31 that Georgia-based Rowe Entertainment Inc. fired him after two shows as the opening act for Kelly’s tour last year. The company was unhappy that the audience and critics liked the plaintiff’s performance more than they did that of the R & B; singer Kelly, the suit maintained

Los Angeles-based Compound Touring, which provides the services of Smith for concert tours, also was a plaintiff in the case. Kelly was not a defendant in the case.

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