Soundgarden members Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron, and Ben Shepherd had a major legal win against Chris Cornell’s widow Vicky Cornell this week.
Billboard is reporting that a federal judge in Washington state has recommended the court throw out two of the six claims by Vicky Cornell against Soundgarden’s surviving members.
U.S. District Judge Michelle Peterson said that there wasn’t evidence that the band was improperly withholding “hundreds of thousands of dollars” of Chris Cornell’s royalties from Vicky, or that Soundgarden’s manager breached his duty to look after her best interests. Judge Robert S. Lasnik will make the ultimate decision on the legal case.
Vicky and Soundgarden have battled over royalties and Soundgarden’s unreleased final album, which features the songs “Orphans” and “Road Less Travelled”, over the last few years. Vicky had wanted to bring in Brendan O’Brien to produce the album, while Soundgarden felt uncomfortable with Vicky trying to insert herself into the band’s creative decisions. Vicky has held onto the vocal demo files Chris recorded, while Soundgarden need them to finish their album, which will likely only clock in at around 7 songs due to Cornell dying before it could be completed in May 2017.
Soundgarden’s claim that Vicky mishandled money from the ‘I Am The Highway’ Chris Cornell tribute show were withdrawn last year after a sanctions threat, though Soundgarden’s lawyer said at the time the band believe the claim ‘remain well-founded.’
