The lawsuit alleges Dre and Iovine phased out the involvement of Monster and its CEO Noel Lee before selling the brand to Apple.

Monster, the tech firm that co-designed the original Beats By Dr. Dre headphones, has filed a lawsuit against Beats Electronics, the company co-founded by Dre and Jimmy Iovine. Beats Electronics was purchased by Apple in May for $3 billion.

In what has been an ongoing battle for Monster and its CEO Noel Lee, the company claims that once they had invented the technology behind the ubiquitous headphones, they were squeezed out of business dealings due to alleged fraud by Iovine and the legendary producer.

The lawsuit, filed in California, alleges that the pair deceptively concealed the role of Monster and Lee in developing the headphone line. After Beats cut all ties with Monster, it paved the way for Apple to purchase the company. Monster CEO Noel Lee claims that if he had retained his original 5% interest in Beats, he would have been due over $100 million as a result of the sale to Apple.

Apple did not comment on the matter when contacted.

[via Gizmodo]