MP has filed a lawsuit against Dream Theater

[chwik]

The sad part is that Mike Portnoy loses no matter the outcome of his lawsuit. If he wins the lawsuit he will probably be disliked by the majority of Dream Theater fans due to the nature of the recent events, and if he loses the lawsuit he is still the guy that sued Dream Theater. 

[Bertielee]

Thanks, Cruithne!

B.Lee

[tristl]

 to DT:
if we move on to the positive facts, ADTOE is a great peace of music,
they are coming to europe next year, i will be at at least three of the concerts including one m&g, since my SE CD didn't come yet i'm still hoping for the ticket for life and if the boys call themselves DT at the time or portnoys nightmare i don't give a crap.
to MP:
judging from my experiences in life, the moment you let the laywers take care of your business you are selling your soul to the
"Dark Master", sorry bosk nothing personal, in this forum you really do a wonderful job and you have a gift of  explaining al these legal matters so everybody gets it, but i would always try to set things straight without lawyers beeing involved.
Suddenly you are not in the driver seat anymore, instead a passenger without much control.
I still wish MP all the best for the future, sooner or later he will be healed( he can always ask Neal Morse to guide hin the way). :loser

[Super Dude]

Lol, someone (Bagelstein) on 5/8 said if MP wins the name DT they should buy the name Majesty for the ultimate troll.  Does anyone know the status of the name these days?  I can't imagine the band from back then is still around, and if they aren't perhaps the name wouldn't be too hard to get.   

I would like to know the answer to this as well.

[eosforum]

Well the name Majesty has been free for use a couple years now

[ariich]

Kon, those were some really interesting posts, cheers for the insight! While I'm still disappointed by the existence of the lawsuit, there are so many possibilities that I'm not going to make assumptions or jump to conclusions.

[kon_jakae]

Kon, those were some really interesting posts, cheers for the insight! While I'm still disappointed by the existence of the lawsuit, there are so many possibilities that I'm not going to make assumptions or jump to conclusions.

Thank you very much, ariich. I always prefer being a musician than a lawyer, or at least a musician that has certain knowledge of laws. However, what I am doing now is vice versa according to family matters. (It is just like what that being illustrated by the song "Far from Heaven". It is absolutely like that.) I am now a lawyer that just knows how to play music. Legal issues always look tragic to me, particularly when it happens to the band I love.

[Bertielee]

Kon, I've just realised you're a woman. Not that it changes anything, but it's nice to have some more girls on a mostly masculine forum!

B.Lee

[Mbarak]

One question I didn't see asked here:

Remember when MP tried to rejoin DT "for the fans" and DT rejected him? Could that play against DT in this lawsuit? I know DT say they refused him because they already chose a new drummer and "moved on", but I also remember MP in an interview stressing that (from his perspective at least) when he asked to rejoin DT, MM wasn't announced "officially" yet.

I'm throwing the possibility that MP's lawyer could say that MP intended to still stay in the band, but because they refused then they "wrongfully excluded plaintiff from the Band"

Excuse the quotations' madness.

[eosforum]

MM wasn''t announced yet but the legal procedure of becoming a DT member (f.e. all the contracts he had to sign with the band, the band's management and RoadRunner) was probably done by that time. So MM was an "official" member eventhough the public didn't know about it.

[serrano]

There is no way to know all the background to this lawsuit and the strategy behind it.

The only thing that comes to my mind now is that this guy really needs some PR advice!! Soon!!

[bosk1]

For the record, I'll just say that after reading kon_jakae's posts, while it's clear to me as a lawyer that there are some relevant nuances of the American legal system that she is unaware of, the majority of what she is saying is dead on.

Cruithne, on the other hand, is way off base.

[ZirconBlue]

But I do remember DT guys (JP in particular) saying that they had to hold back announcement of the new drummer because there were legal issues to resolve.

That's funny, because I remember the band not explaining why they were holding back the announcement, and a bunch of fans speculating about legal issues.  In fact, from the interviews I've seen, it seems that they held back on the announcement so that they could finish the documentary.  I'd be very curious to see links to these statements you "remember" JP making.

[Kotowboy]

" I once thought it better to be right.
But Now I have finally seen the light.
Sometimes You Got to be wrong and learn from mistakes.
I live with serenity now.
Not self righteous hate."

[Perpetual Change]

For the record, I'll just say that after reading kon_jakae's posts, while it's clear to me as a lawyer that there are some relevant nuances of the American legal system that she is unaware of, the majority of what she is saying is dead on.

Cruithne, on the other hand, is way off base.

Now you are just being a sociopathic wanker 

[bosk1]

For the record, I'll just say that after reading kon_jakae's posts, while it's clear to me as a lawyer that there are some relevant nuances of the American legal system that she is unaware of, the majority of what she is saying is dead on.

Cruithne, on the other hand, is way off base.

Now you are just being a sociopathic wanker 

What do you mean "now?"

[Perpetual Change]

[Cruithne]

I expect to be. I'm British and not a lawyer

I've had plenty of personal contract dealings of my own over the years and due to being quite senior in a few companies (one of them a start-up where I was quite close to one of the directors and nearly invested in the company myself) I've had indirect exposure to how Limited companies operate in the UK, and since I have one or two friends who actually run/ran companies I get second hand information from them about contract negotiations, dealings with lawyers and so forth... but I have no direct experience of my own.

So I'm just making semi-educated guesses with no real authority whatsoever I hoped I was quite clear that that's what I was doing though, but according to my wife I have a habit of being able to sound quite authoritative about subjects I actually know nothing about 

[bosk1]

Actually, looking back at your posts, you actually do give some good insight in some areas.

But as far as being wrong in others, yeah, I would just chalk it up to being British.  You guys are generally wrong about most things. 

[antigoon]

boskowned!

[Perpetual Change]

I've been waiting for a rule against British English on this forum for a long time.

[7StringedBeast]

I feel like Mike's departure statement and everything said on social media and internet forums all over will be plenty of evidence against Portnoy.

[Cruithne]

Actually, looking back at your posts, you actually do give some good insight in some areas.

I call it luck 

But as far as being wrong in others, yeah, I would just chalk it up to being British.  You guys are generally wrong about most things. 

But we make up for it by knowing how to make a nice cup of tea 

[Kotowboy]

Actually, looking back at your posts, you actually do give some good insight in some areas.

But as far as being wrong in others, yeah, I would just chalk it up to being British.  You guys are generally wrong about most things. 

FAIL.

[bosk1]

But as far as being wrong in others, yeah, I would just chalk it up to being British.  You guys are generally wrong about most things. 

But we make up for it by knowing how to make a nice cup of tea 
[/quote]

True.  And you have Ribena.

[BlobVanDam]

I've been waiting for a rule against British English on this forum for a long time.

Why on Earth would you ban correct English?

[Chrissalix]

I've been waiting for a rule against British English on this forum for a long time.

Why on Earth would you ban correct English?

Backed hard.

[7StringedBeast]

I've been waiting for a rule against British English on this forum for a long time.

Why on Earth would you ban courrect English?

FTFY

[rumborak]

Well, one thing's for sure: MP should have no problem keeping his fan happy. The one that's remaining.

rumborak

[Perpetual Change]

Well, one thing's for sure: MP should have no problem keeping his fan happy. The one that's remaining.

rumborak

Following MP's forum today has been interesting. In the beginning, every other comment was something negative or respectfully (or direspectfully) critical. Midway through the day, every other common was under that "flagged" status where it can no longer been seen. Now, at the end of the day, nearly every comment is gone but the "we got you Mike you're our guy" types. Mike's facebook has pretty much been handled the same way.

Oddly, someone reposted Smirnoff's accusation that Mike kicked his drum tech in the head for making a mistake during the Drum Clinic. Mike denied it, but then the entire thread was removed shortly after. Thought that was really, really weird.  And honestly, smelled of a cover up.

Mike's latest post was something like "thanks for all the positive comments while we weed out the trolls." I guess "trolls" is what rightfully disappointed fans are to him now.

[rumborak]

Wey quit too? Holy shit.

How the mighty have fallen.

rumborak

[CrimsonSunrise]

Ok, but people are not pointing out any of that, but taking everything at a very personal level. They're showing a great deal of disappointment and lost of respect ("there goes the last bit of my respect towards him"...like anybody would give a damn)towards MP, and they seem so affected to the point of making fun of him with offensive jokes (like the ones related to his drinking problem). I don't know, I just can't feel any of that. To me, he's just a guy who makes music I like, not some sort of idol or role model. Otherwise, if I cared for the artist's I like personal lives, my own life would be a hell 

The problem for me is, I NEED to respect the musician's I listen to.  Maybe that's just me.  Examples for me are Neil Young and Eddie Vedder. I used to love them till they got ultra political with the music.  At that point I lost respect and all interest in their music.  It doesn't matter whether they're ultra talented or not to me.  Another example, yet not music related, is Vick.  So I guess it works with more than just music for me.

Huge difference: Neil Young and Eddie Vedder are guys whose music is influenced by their political leanings; Michael Vick tortured and murdered dogs.

I don't know how long you've been listening to music, but a lot of guys have done a lot of bad things.

"Trust the tale, not the teller".

Of course there's a difference,  The point I was trying to make was that for ME, I need to respect/like the person to listen to their music or root for them in a sporting event.

[blackngold29]

I've thought about the situation a little more and I feel that if you personally make the decision to walk away from something (a group, a company, a band) it is irrelevant how much work you put into it in the past. You should think about the future of the entity without you and how you will feel about not being a part of it prior to leaving. I see people using the "If it was you you would do the same" argument. No, I wouldn't. If you quit your job and the company does really well down the road, you don't make any extra money.

Now, if the guys made some type of agreement (ie 'We'll split, but we'll keep you posted' or something like that) then it's different, but that's not public obviously.

MP winning this essentially gives him control over a band that he isn't in. To what extent he would use it is unknown, but it sounds like he could have final say on anything he wants; which sounds like a horrible way to be a musician (for the band members).

[7StringedBeast]

Well, one thing's for sure: MP should have no problem keeping his fan happy. The one that's remaining.

rumborak

Following MP's forum today has been interesting. In the beginning, every other comment was something negative or respectfully (or direspectfully) critical. Midway through the day, every other common was under that "flagged" status where it can no longer been seen. Now, at the end of the day, nearly every comment is gone but the "we got you Mike you're our guy" types. Mike's facebook has pretty much been handled the same way.

Oddly, someone reposted Smirnoff's accusation that Mike kicked his drum tech in the head for making a mistake during the Drum Clinic. Mike denied it, but then the entire thread was removed shortly after. Thought that was really, really weird.  And honestly, smelled of a cover up.

Mike's latest post was something like "thanks for all the positive comments while we weed out the trolls." I guess "trolls" is what rightfully disappointed fans are to him now.

Anything except taking the blinders off I guess.

[Perpetual Change]

That's been the biggest disappointment ever since the first wave of fans (according to him) "turning on him" when he got called out on being disrespectful to James LaBrie and apologized not for "being wrong" but for "the fans being upset" or something like that. He really seems to be ducking out of being responsible for his words or actions in any way. As plenty of people have pointed out over the past year, he wrote out the whole 12 Step Suite but you've got to wonder if he really learned anything from it or whether it was really just more chest-pounding.