BLABBERMOUTH.NET
According to
Rolling Stone, the surviving members of
SOUNDGARDEN have countersued
Chris Cornell's widow
Vicky Cornell and the
Chris Cornell estate, accusing them of using revenue from the January 2019
Chris Cornell tribute concert for personal purposes for
Vicky and her family.
The countersuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida, Miami division on Wednesday (May 6), claims that
Vicky Cornell requested in late 2018 that
Kim Thayil,
Matt Cameron and
Ben Shepherd agree to perform at the
"I Am The Highway: A Tribute To Chris Cornell" January 16, 2019 concert in Los Angeles without compensation. "To induce
SOUNDGARDEN to agree to this request,
Vicky Cornell represented that the revenue from the
Cornell Concert would be used for charitable purposes," the complaint states.
Thayil,
Cameron and
Shepherd allege "that
Vicky Cornell's representation was false in that
Vicky Cornell did not have the intention of using some or all of the revenue from the
Cornell Concert for charitable purposes, but rather for personal purposes for herself and her family.
SOUNDGARDEN is informed and believes and thereon alleges that
Vicky Cornell knew that the representation was false, or exhibited recklessness or negligence as to its truth or falsity, for the purpose and with the intent of inducing
SOUNDGARDEN into agreeing to perform at the
Cornell Concert without compensation," the counterclaim reads.
According to the lawsuit, "
Vicky Cornell's representation was material to
SOUNDGARDEN in that
SOUNDGARDEN had no interest in performing without compensation at a concert that financially benefited
Vicky Cornell and her family.
SOUNDGARDEN relied on its belief that the revenue from the
Cornell Concert would be used for charitable purposes in deciding to agree to perform at the
Cornell Concert without compensation. As a direct and proximate result of the breach of
Vicky Cornell,
SOUNDGARDEN has suffered damages as a result of
Vicky Cornell's misrepresentation including lost reasonable compensation for the
Cornell Concert and reputational harm."
The countersuit adds that "all recipient(s) of the revenue from the
Cornell Concert have not been identified, and
Vicky Cornell has failed to adequately respond to Counter-Plaintiffs' formal and informal inquiries about how these revenues were used and expended. In a Declaration in Support of her Opposition to the Motion to Dismiss filed in this action,
Vicky Cornell states that $643,000 of the concert revenue was donated to the
Epidermolysis Bullosa Medial Research Foundation. But Counter-Defendants have not identified the whereabouts or disposition of the remaining revenue. Counter-Defendants have so far refused to respond to inquiries relating to the
Cornell Concert, including failing to provide any substantive interrogatory responses or document productions in response to discovery propounded by
SOUNDGARDEN in this action relating to the
Cornell Foundation and the
Cornell Concert. Moreover, until shortly before this filing when the
Cornell Foundation released its 2018 Form 990 (almost a year late), the
Cornell Foundation had not publicly released any information detailing its financial position since 2017. Finally, as of the date of these Counterclaims, the
Cornell Foundation's website still appears not to have been updated since 2017. A thorough accounting is required because
Vicky Cornell promised
SOUNDGARDEN that no portion of the revenue generated from the
Cornell Concert would be used for anything other than charitable purposes as consideration to induce
SOUNDGARDEN to play at the
Cornell Concert."
Last December,
Vicky Cornell filed a lawsuit against
Thayil,
Cameron and
Shepherd, alleging the group owed
Cornell's estate hundreds of thousands of dollars in allegedly unpaid royalties and the rights to seven unreleased recordings made before the singer's death in May of 2017.
Responding to
Vicky's lawsuit,
Thayil,
Cameron and
Shepherd claimed that they "don't have possession" of their "own creative work," and alleged that "
Vicky Cornell has possession of the only existing multi-track recordings of the last
SOUNDGARDEN tracks that include
Chris Cornell's instrumental parts and vocals. All of the band members jointly worked on these final tracks,
Vicky now claims ownership of the final
SOUNDGARDEN album." They also insisted that all of the bandmembers, not just
Cornell, are owed monies, but none of them will be paid until "expenses are paid and the partnership shares of earnings can be calculated and distributed."