SOUNDGARDEN Drops Benefit Concert Claims Against CHRIS CORNELL's Widow Amid Threat Of Sanctions
July 17, 2020, 4 years ago
The remaining members of Soundgarden are dropping counterclaims against the widow of late frontman Chris Cornell regarding a benefit concert organized in his memory amid threats of sanctions from her legal team, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
Vicky Cornell in December 2019 sued Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Hunter Benedict Shepherd - along with the band's business manager Rit Venerus - claiming they were trying to "strong-arm" her into giving them seven unreleased sound recordings her husband had made prior to his death by withholding royalties.
Cornell died by suicide in May 2017 and his wife, who controls his estate, wanted input on who would produce the unreleased tracks and how the album would be marketed. She's suing the band members for declaratory relief with regard to copyright ownership of the recordings and the business manager for breach of fiduciary duty.
Soundgarden in May 2020 filed a countersuit alleging, in part, that Vicky Cornell tricked the band into performing in a benefit concert (I Am The Highway: A Tribute To Chris Cornell) by saying the money would go to charity, but she used it for personal purposes. The band also claims she doesn't actually own the sound recordings - she just has physical possession of them because the band returned to her Cornell's property, including his laptop - and that she's been running the band's social media sites without permission and refuses to turn them over.
Read the full story at The Hollywood Reporter.
