MP has filed a lawsuit against Dream Theater

[snapple]

Shit, it has their addresses on it.

[ariich]

I'm guessing this is about Portnoy trying to secure a portion of the earnings going forward (I think it is reasonably common for bands to continue paying out to previous members, particularly when they've been quite significant up to that point) and there's a disconnect between how much the band thinks he should get and how much Portnoy thinks he should get, hence the lawsuit.

Yeah this exactly, MP left the band and I can't imagine he would have wanted to stop them using the band's name (hence the "without plaintiff's consent" bit) but it sounds like he probably wanted money for them doing so. Which I agree is pretty low, but does actually tie in with what JP and JR had implied in that interview a few weeks back.

Guys, this happened back in April, so I'm pretty sure he was unsuccessful.

These things can take some time to make it through the courts or mediation or settleing or however the end up getting closed out.

True, I'll admit I don't know how long these things take in the US civil courts.

[Hal Incandenza]

Well, that's disappointing.

[MykeHavoc]

I know its back from April, but I had to lol at this. There's really no getting around the fact that when boiled down, he quit a band and then sued them for his lack of participation. That just...wow

[peruvianskynewhampshire]

Nick you beat me by a couple of seconds on the post. I must say im really not surprised. what i am surprised about is that it took this long to find out about it.. seems kinda a coincidence that this was discovered just after MPs latest statements

[ResultsMayVary]

Coming from someone who doesn't have a legal background at all here, but doesn't the fact that he quit the band automatically make his argument about the name to be worthless?

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

lol Mike Portnoy.

[lordxizor]

Coming from someone who doesn't have a legal background at all here, but doesn't the fact that he quit the band automatically make his argument about the name to be worthless?

I'm sure legally he's still a part owner of Ytse Jams, Inc and thus DT. Perhaps he's going to argue that without his permission DT cannot record or tour under that name. But yes, I don't think he has much to stand on since he quit.

[PetFish]

Sadly, I'm not surprised, MP has been anything but professional and gracious throughout this whole ordeal, an ordeal which he brought upon himself and DT.

I no longer care for or even give a shit about MP.

[johncal]

He wanted the rights to the name:

The relief sought is:
l. A judicial declarahon that defendants may not use the name of the Band
(including in connecnon with the making of recordings and the promotion of live performances)
without plaintiff s consent;
2. An injunction restraining defendants from using the name of the Band
(including in connection with the making of recordings and the promotion of live performances)
without plaintifF s consent; and
3. An awatd of damages in an amount to be determined at trial.
Upon your failure to timely appear, judgment will be taken against you by
default for the declaratory and injunctive relief sought herein, an amount of damages to be
determined (together with interest thereon), and the costs and disbursements of this action.

Cut and paste didn't like the PDF scan, so that's why there are typo's.

I guess you can print this out and keep it as an MP souvenier. Really sad. Since Mp always uses the marriage analogy I'd say it's like  cheating on your wife, leaving her, and then sueing her for the right to live in the house and take a portion of all the posessions. I could be wrong, but I can't imagine how that would fly in court unless there are some previous agreements being broken but it's not likely. If there were, they'd be referenced in the above document.

[BlobVanDam]

I remind everyone to be respectful, or you will be banned.

Yeah, good luck with that one.

And MP has nothing here. He quit. He was not fired. By quitting, he lost any right to the band, which belong to the band. It's a huge shame this turned out to be mostly right.

The fact DT released a new album without skipping a beat tells me this lawsuit isn't going to get anywhere.

[ariich]

Hey. Remember back when people assumed this was going to happen/was happening and they got shot down for saying that? Yeah. People were like, "MP quit DT to join A7X!" and "MP is probably suing DT about the band name!" And everyone was like, "You're crazy. Stop jumping to conclusions. You're dumb."

And look where we are now.

I don't recall anyone ever saying "you're dumb" or "you're crazy". We did say "don't jump to conclusions" and we were absolutely right to do so. There was no evidence of any legal action until JR and JP mentioned it in that interview, and even then there was no evidence of a lawsuit. After that interview, this news isn't hugely surprising (although it is hugely disappointing), but there was no certainty of it back then.

I remind everyone to be respectful, or you will be banned.

Yeah, good luck with that one.

You say that, but so far everyone has been very respectful with their posts, which is great as it's what we've been trying to get people to do for AGES. Nothing wrong with being critical, just be respectful.

[Stoneyman]

Wait....HE QUIT the band!  If he chose to leave, regardless of who he blames for his reason to leave, then he made a choice to forfeit his stake in the group.

Sounds like he wants to be paid for the name.  DT should tell him to shove the name up his arse and call his bluff.

I will not spend another dollar on a Portnoy project.  Sucks too, I am a huge Sykes fan and I was really looking forward to hearing it.  This dude must be living on planet BS, in the galaxy of TSCD!

[Priest of Syrinx]

Huh, I thought everyone already knew for months that MP was suing over the DT name.

This reminds me of Yes in the 80's, with the split into ABWH.

[KevShmev]

Looks like he really is trying to be like Roger Waters.  Waters left Floyd in the mid 80s, and then was royally pissed when they went on without him, so he sued them to stop them from using the name...and lost.  And so will Portnoy (if he hasn't already).

[DreamerTV]

When i think about it, i always ask myself: did he really need to do this?. And what for?.
Since from a merely legal point of view, as far as i know there's no way he will win this lawsuit.

And, even i feel sad saying this, to know what happened in April it put in a total, and hypocritical, different prospective what he has said in these last weeks.

[Implode]

Hey. Remember back when people assumed this was going to happen/was happening and they got shot down for saying that? Yeah. People were like, "MP quit DT to join A7X!" and "MP is probably suing DT about the band name!" And everyone was like, "You're crazy. Stop jumping to conclusions. You're dumb."

And look where we are now.

I don't recall anyone ever saying "your dumb" or "you're crazy". We did say "don't jump to conclusions" and we were absolutely right to do so. There was no evidence of any legal action until JR and JP mentioned it in that interview, and even then there was no evidence of a lawsuit. After that interview, this news isn't hugely surprising (although it is hugely disappointing), but there was no certainty of it back then.

I'm not saying it was wrong to say that they were jumping to conclusions. It's just really funny how all those jumpy people were completely right.

I mean I find it funny. It's funny, right?

[Priest of Syrinx]

Looks like he really is trying to be like Roger Waters.  Waters left Floyd in the mid 80s, and then was royally pissed when they went on without him, so he sued them to stop them from using the name...and lost.  And so will Portnoy (if he hasn't already).

Yeah, probably what will happen is MP will get some settlement $$.

Really guys, this is all pro forma stuff, happens all the time, nothing to get excited about.

[jsem]

Shit, it has their addresses on it.

QUICK

STALK THE DT MEMBERS

[johncal]

Wait....HE QUIT the band!  If he chose to leave, regardless of who he blames for his reason to leave, then he made a choice to forfeit his stake in the group.

Sounds like he wants to be paid for the name.  DT should tell him to shove the name up his arse and call his bluff.

I will not spend another dollar on a Portnoy project.  Sucks too, I am a huge Sykes fan and I was really looking forward to hearing it.  This dude must be living on planet BS, in the galaxy of TSCD!

He could always use the defense that he quit the band because he was mentally exhausted and they wouldn't let him have time off. Just like with work, it's not legal to fire someone that has a reasonable illness foir not working. However, if you make that claim and have 4-5 part time jobs you're still working (like Portnoy) then that arguement goes right out the window.

[3xodus]

Wait a minute... That pdf file that chris linked shows that it is from the New York Supreme Court. Wouldn't it actually have to be elevated to the Supreme Court first? Like I would just think that something of this nature would be filed in a civil court first.

[BlobVanDam]

Hey. Remember back when people assumed this was going to happen/was happening and they got shot down for saying that? Yeah. People were like, "MP quit DT to join A7X!" and "MP is probably suing DT about the band name!" And everyone was like, "You're crazy. Stop jumping to conclusions. You're dumb."

And look where we are now.

I don't recall anyone ever saying "you're dumb" or "you're crazy". We did say "don't jump to conclusions" and we were absolutely right to do so. There was no evidence of any legal action until JR and JP mentioned it in that interview, and even then there was no evidence of a lawsuit. After that interview, this news isn't hugely surprising (although it is hugely disappointing), but there was no certainty of it back then.

As usual, I agree with you. Now we actually have some facts, rather than leaps based on speculation.

With how long ago this was, for all we know it's sorted, or went nowhere, or whatever. Not sure we'll ever find out what came/comes of it though.

[kirksnosehair]

I just lost what little respect I had left for Mike Portnoy.  He's shown himself to be a duplicitous, conniving backstabber.  Had he been forced out of the band I would probably not feel as strongly about this, but HE fucking quit the band, not the other way around.

He's certainly entitled to his fair share of profits on all of the sales of recordings that he was involved with, but from the moment he quit, he ain't entitled to shit.

Hey wait.....I have the catch phrase for this:

"From the moment he quit, he ain't entitled to shit"

 

[Cruithne]

Coming from someone who doesn't have a legal background at all here, but doesn't the fact that he quit the band automatically make his argument about the name to be worthless?

There will have been various legal agreements that Portnoy was involved in as part of the band that will have had to be disentangled before he was technically no longer part of the band.

I think from past interviews they've given that essentially the five members of the band are the significant shareholders in the Dream Theater rights and pay out dividends to themselves at the end of the year and the rest of the time they pay themselves a pittance. I think this is the way it works and it means they can get a lower rate of tax than if they were just paying themselves a set wage (someone with better understanding/knowledge of US business will know more than I).

Admittedly this is all speculation, but when it comes down to the brass tacks of extricating Portnoy from the business dealings there will be a certain claim he can attach to future earnings based on having helped build up the Dream Theater brand for so many years.

I suspect if he were touring with A7X right now and making decent money that the lawsuit might not have happened, but since he's now looking at a big hole in his earnings he's going to use the courts to arbitrate how significant his involvement was up to this point and try and get himself a bigger slice of the future pie than DT are willing to hand over.

I don't think it's actually that rare a thing to do and there are more absurd lawsuits that have been floating around (e.g. David Ellefson vs. Dave Mustaine, suing him for $17M wasn't it?). I believe from what was said of the Alex Lifeson court case a few years ago that lawyers will advise their clients to sling as much against the wall as they can to see what sticks.

[3xodus]

Shit, it has their addresses on it.

Not gonna lie, I just google mapsed JP's modestly huge house. I feel a bit stalkerish for this and am not proud of myself whatsoever. 

[zipporaid]

Funny how he quotes the PF Waters/Gilmour split in his last blabber,
We all know how that worked out for Waters....   

[ariich]

Hey. Remember back when people assumed this was going to happen/was happening and they got shot down for saying that? Yeah. People were like, "MP quit DT to join A7X!" and "MP is probably suing DT about the band name!" And everyone was like, "You're crazy. Stop jumping to conclusions. You're dumb."

And look where we are now.

I don't recall anyone ever saying "your dumb" or "you're crazy". We did say "don't jump to conclusions" and we were absolutely right to do so. There was no evidence of any legal action until JR and JP mentioned it in that interview, and even then there was no evidence of a lawsuit. After that interview, this news isn't hugely surprising (although it is hugely disappointing), but there was no certainty of it back then.

I'm not saying it was wrong to say that they were jumping to conclusions. It's just really funny how all those jumpy people were completely right.

I mean I find it funny. It's funny, right?

Ah ok, yeah it definitely is quite amusing, which helps to combat the disappointment I suppose.

[aXygnus]

Shit, it has their addresses on it.

Oh if only I lived nearby... But no, I'm stuck across the pond.

Since Mp always uses the marriage analogy I'd say it's like  cheating on your wife, leaving her, and then sueing her for the right to live in the house and take a portion of all the posessions.

Yeah, but it's usually the wife who does that, and not the husband... >_>

DON'T SHOOT ME PLEASE

[ZirconBlue]

Wait a minute... That pdf file that chris linked shows that it is from the New York Supreme Court. Wouldn't it actually have to be elevated to the Supreme Court first? Like I would just think that something of this nature would be filed in a civil court first.

No.  New York just has weird names for their courts. 

[snapple]

Shit, it has their addresses on it.

QUICK

STALK THE DT MEMBERS

See you in PA?

[Implode]

It's like people assumed the worst, and it's really sad to find that MP is proving them all right.

[ResultsMayVary]

Wait....HE QUIT the band!  If he chose to leave, regardless of who he blames for his reason to leave, then he made a choice to forfeit his stake in the group.

Sounds like he wants to be paid for the name.  DT should tell him to shove the name up his arse and call his bluff.

I will not spend another dollar on a Portnoy project.  Sucks too, I am a huge Sykes fan and I was really looking forward to hearing it.  This dude must be living on planet BS, in the galaxy of TSCD!

He could always use the defense that he quit the band because he was mentally exhausted and they wouldn't let him have time off. Just like with work, it's not legal to fire someone that has a reasonable illness foir not working. However, if you make that claim and have 4-5 part time jobs you're still working (like Portnoy) then that arguement goes right out the window.

I could see this point, except for the fact he QUIT and wasn't fired as the analogy you used suggests.

[pmahoney1337]

I will forever love MP's drumming, but after reading this I can't see myself having any respect for him on any other level. It's a shame because I used to have more respect for MP than any other musician.

[chrisbDTM]

lolnoy


this is totally gonna bring those fans back that MP claimed turned their back on him

[johncal]

Although I have no proof, it's amazingly coincidental that every few days some juicy bit of gossip surfaces. Just enough to keep things a bit off balance for the band. Almost like it's to try to hurt them. Just whaen the dust settles, it's stirred up again. Almost as if on purpose. I'm no conspiracy theorist, but this is just too strange.