London, Dec. 16 (Agencies): Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and relatives of their Beatles’ bandmates are suing EMI to recover what they claim is more than $53 million in unpaid royalties, their company said today.

McCartney, Starr and relatives of John Lennon and George Harrison are pursuing the case both in New York and London.

“We have tried to reach a settlement through good faith negotiations and regret that our efforts have been in vain,” said Neil Aspinall, who heads Apple Corps Ltd. Apple Records is a division of Apple Corps Ltd.

“Despite very clear provisions in our contracts, EMI persists in ignoring their obligations and duty to account fairly and with transparency,” Aspinall said. Apple Records is owned by McCartney, Starr and the families of Lennon and Harrison.

Apple and EMI have already fought a decade-long courtroom battle over royalties, which was resolved out of court in 1989. Apple Records claimed that EMI secretly sold or gave away millions of records to retailers.