It seems that Mick Mars has won the first battle in his current war with his former band MÖTLEY CRÜE
Mick Mars‘s attorney informed Rolling Stone that the dispute over whether the guitarist was unlawfully separated from MÖTLEY CRÜE is set to enter private arbitration later this year.
In October 2022, Mars, a co-founder of MÖTLEY CRÜE, announced his retirement from touring due to deteriorating health. Despite stepping back from live performances, he asserted his ongoing membership in the band, with John 5 taking over on the road.
However, in April 2023, Mick Mars filed a lawsuit against the group, alleging that after his retirement announcement, the other members attempted to oust him as a significant stakeholder in the band’s corporation and business holdings through a shareholders’ meeting.
Specifically, Mick Mars contended that he was pressured to sign a severance agreement, relinquishing his 25 percent stake in the band’s various business ventures in exchange for a 5 percent stake in the 2023 tour, with the stipulation that it would be reduced to 0 percent for future tours.
According to the lawsuit, CRÜE‘s management later increased the offer to a 7.5 percent stake in the 2023 tour, contingent on Mars divesting from the band and its businesses. When Mick Mars refused to sign, the band opted for arbitration “to prevent public awareness of their alleged mistreatment of their ‘brother’ of 41 years,” as stated in the lawsuit.
When they wanted to get high and fuck everything up, I covered for them,” Mars told Rolling Stone in an interview last year. “Now they’re trying to take my legacy away, my part of MÖTLEY CRÜE, my ownership of the name, the brand. How can you fire Mr. Heinz from Heinz ketchup? He owns it. Frank Sinatra‘s or Jimi Hendrix‘s legacy goes on forever, and their heirs continue to profit from it. They’re trying to take that away from me. I’m not going to let them.”
Mick Mars‘s lawyer, Ed McPherson, cited the recent ruling on Tuesday (January 16) that MÖTLEY CRÜE delayed producing requested documents as evidence of mistreatment. “Finally, somebody, somewhere told these guys they can’t bully Mick anymore. We’re in the middle of a huge arbitration that will ultimately decide if Mick has to give up his shares or not, if they did things properly or not. Obviously we claim they didn’t do anything properly. But they feel that they’re above the rules. And that’s what this lawsuit was about,” McPherson said.
“This was them feeling they were above the rules, and this judge saying, ‘No, you’re not. And you may have given all the documents now, so there’s nothing left for me to do, but, you’re going to pay for it,” he added. “I think that’s a pretty huge victory for Mick. If they want to claim a victory, that’s fine. But this is someone finally telling Mick, ‘No, you’re not crazy. These guys are bullying you. And we’re not going to let it happen.'”
Mick initiated the lawsuit against MÖTLEY CRÜE with the aim of scrutinizing the entire financial records to assess whether he was receiving what he believed he was entitled to.
Mars, whose legal name is Robert Alan Deal, has been the lead guitarist for MÖTLEY CRÜE since the band’s establishment in 1981.
