R&B veteran Kevin Thornton is taking his original Color Me Badd bandmates to court in a bid to ban former frontman Bryan Abrams from returning to the line-up.

Thornton claims the singer, who voluntarily quit the I Wanna Sex You Up group in 2013 to deal with a series of personal issues, recently managed to convince fellow member Mark Calderon to "allow him back into the band" in place of new vocalist Martin Kember, who has been performing with Color Me Badd in Abrams' absence.

The plaintiff alleges Abrams and Calderon have since been trying to exclude him from the group and its company, CMB Entertainment Llc, which was formed upon the three stars' reunion in 2010.

Thornton is asking an Indiana judge to dissolve the firm, arguing it was created under false pretences as he believes Abrams was not sober, as he stated at the time, when he signed the agreement.

In addition, he is requesting damages for emotional distress, allegedly caused by Abrams' extreme conduct as he reportedly attempted to push Thornton out of the band.

Thornton is hoping to resolve the issue before Color Me Badd hit the road for a number of shows in 2015, with Kember still billed as part of the trio's line-up.