The legal dispute stemming from Mötley Crüe’s recent arbitration win against former guitarist Mick Mars is far from settled, as Mars’ legal team has now gone public with strong criticism of the ruling that fully favored the band.
Mars’ attorney has taken aim at the arbitrator’s decision, which concluded that Mötley Crüe acted within its contractual rights when it removed Mars as both a bandmember and officer for cause after he ceased touring due to health-related issues. The ruling further stated that Mars is liable to repay the band hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In comments made to Rolling Stone, Mars’ lawyer Ed McPherson offered an unfiltered reaction to the outcome, making clear his dissatisfaction with the arbitrator’s findings.
“The decision is awful. It’s not fair. This band has never been fair to Mick. When Mick said ‘I can’t tour anymore because of a hideous disease, but I can still write, perform one-offs or residencies and record,’ they said, ‘Sorry, Mick. It’s been 43 years, but you’re out. Goodbye, and we don’t want to pay you anymore.’ This arbitrator said it’s fine. We need to figure out if we’re going to challenge [the decision]. It’s ridiculous. It’s just a question of whether he wants to keep pursuing this. Basically, he’s over Mötley Crüe.”
Earlier this week, Mötley Crüe has claimed what it describes as a “decisive victory” in its legal dispute with former guitarist Mick Mars, stating that the outcome has resulted in “a final arbitration award that rejects every claim Mars made against the band and orders him to pay damages back to the group.”
In a press release issued by Mötley Crüe‘s attorney, Sasha Frid of Miller Barondess, LLP, “the arbitrator’s ruling not only vindicates the band contractually and financially but also dismantles the public narrative Mars promoted in interviews with major outlets.”
According to Frid, the arbitrator — retired judge Patrick Walsh — ruled completely in favor of Mötley Crüe. The decision affirmed that Mick Mars relinquished any entitlement to touring income when he elected to stop performing live. Notably, that provision was reportedly introduced at Mars’ own insistence and written into the band’s operating agreement in 2008, explicitly stating that any member who ceases touring is no longer eligible to share in tour-related revenue.
Frid commented: “This dispute was about protecting the integrity and legacy of one of the most successful bands in rock history. With the arbitrator rejecting every claim and enforcing the parties’ agreements as written, the band has been fully vindicated — legally, financially, and factually.”
