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Days after the sad death of Beastie Boys' founding member Adam Yauch, it has been revealed that the band are being sued for using a sample without permission.

The lawsuit against the band was filed on 3 May, 2012 (the day before Yauch's death) by record label TufAmerica and refers to tracks on the band's album 'Licensed to III, Paul's Boutique'.

"I was very sorry to hear of Adam Yauch's untimely passing, and can assure you that the unfortunate timing of the filing of TufAmerica's complaint had nothing to do with his health," said the record label's lawyer Kelly Talcott in an interview with website E! News Today. "On behalf of myself and TufAmerica, I offer our condolences to Adam's family, friends, and fans."

The label claims that the Beastie Boys track 'Shadrach' contains a vocal sequence taken without permission from 'Say What' by Trouble Funk and that 'Car Thief' unlawfully samples 'Drop The Bomb' by the same band.

The record label are seeking undisclosed damages from the band, who recently spoke of their grief at the loss of long-time bandmate, Adam MCA Yauch.

Look back at photos of the Beastie Boys career below