TMZ has reported that Chris Cornell’s widow has sued the surviving members of SOUNDGARDEN over the buyout price offered to her for the late singer’s stake in the band.
In the lawsuit, which was obtained by TMZ, Vicky Cornell says Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd offered her just $300,000 for Chris’s share. This amount, she says, is far lower than the real value of the Chris Cornell estate’s interests in SOUNDGARDEN, especially considering the fact that the band got an offer of $16 million from an outside investor for SOUNDGARDEN’s masters.
A SOUNDGARDEN representative told TMZ: “As requested by the Estate of Chris Cornell and as required by the laws of the State of Washington, the surviving members of SOUNDGARDEN submitted to the Cornell Estate four months ago a buy-out offer of the Estate’s interests in SOUNDGARDEN calculated by respected music industry valuation expert Gary Cohen. Since then, the band members have continued to try to settle all disputes with the Cornell Estate and in their several attempts to settle, the band members have elected to offer multiple times more than the amount calculated by Cohen.”
The representative added: “This dispute has never been about money for the band. This is their life’s work and their legacy.”
Chris Cornell was found dead in his room at the MGM Grand Detroit hotel in May 2017, following a SOUNDGARDEN concert. The death was ruled a suicide.