Soundgarden Responds To Chris Cornell Widow's Lawsuit

Bruce Henne | 02-05-2020

(hennemusic) Soundgarden have filed a legal response to a lawsuit brought by Chris Cornell's widow over a series of unreleased recordings made by the rocker before his death in 2017.

Vicky Cornell filed a lawsuit in a Florida court in December claiming the Seattle band is withholding royalties from her in an effort to gain access to vocal tracks for seven songs the singer recorded in his personal studio in Florida.

In a February 4 court motion filed by the group, according to Rolling Stone, Soundgarden denied withholding royalties and rebuffed Vicky's claim that she is the sole owner of several recordings Cornell worked on before his passing.

Soundgarden claim the unreleased recordings stem from writing and recording sessions that date back as far as 2015, and referenced a series of interviews and band communications in their filing that confirm this information - including some from Vicky herself - and that Cornell recorded much of this material in Seattle and New York City and while touring, and not in Florida as per Vicky's court filing.

The group also rebuffed Vicky's claim that it's purposely withholding money from her, with the motion stating that no one in the band is being paid at the moment, and won't until "the Partnership, by vote of the Remaining Partners, formally elects to make such a distribution."

"We don't have possession of our own creative work," said Soundgarden in a statement.

Marty Singer, attorney for Vicky Cornell and the Estate of Chris Cornell, issued a statement in response to Soundgarden's claims.

"We obviously disagree with the band's blatant mischaracterization of events, and stand by the truthful facts set forth in our complaint," said Singer. "It is disappointing that Chris' former band members have now sought to taint his legacy by making numerous false allegations, and that they continue to withhold substantial monies from his widow and minor children (despite using those same funds to pay for their own legal fees).

"The issue in this case is not who wrote the songs but rather who owns the specific recordings made solely by Chris while he resided in Florida. We are very confident that the Court will vindicate the rights of Chris' Estate, and that the case will properly remain in Florida, where Chris resided and recorded the songs that are now the lawful property of his Estate." Read more here.

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