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Legal
Cohl’s countersuit against Live Nation allowed to proceed
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 8 April 2011
A US judge has denied Live Nation’s request that a lawsuit filed against them by legendary music promoter, and the live music conglom’s former Chairman, Michael Cohl be dismissed
As previously reported, Live Nation and Cohl are in legal dispute over the agreement the two parties reached when they parted company back in 2008. That agreement allowed Cohl to continue to work as a promoter with certain big name artists – most notably the Rolling Stones – in return for the former Chairman paying the live music firm nearly $10 million over a number of years. Cohl’s original contract with Live Nation would have forbidden him from competing with them if and when he made a hasty exit from his executive role there, hence why the live music company could demand such a large sum to ignore that clause in the case of certain major artists.
Live Nation sued Cohl last year claiming that he had defaulted on those multi-million dollar payments. Cohl then counter-sued claiming Live Nation were already in breach of contract for interfering in his efforts to secure the rights to promote a mooted Rolling Stones fiftieth anniversary tour. The tour hadn’t actually gone ahead, but Cohl says that by interfering Live Nation had damaged his chances of scoring the Stones tour – if and when such a tour happens – because the band were aware of squabbles between the promoter and the live firm and didn’t want to be caught up in the middle of it.
Live Nation requested Cohl’s countersuit be dismissed, partly on the grounds that the Stones tour at the heart of the specific dispute hadn’t, in the end, happened, and was only being vaguely considered by the band at the time the two parties squabbled about it. But, according to Billboard, US District Court judge Cecilia Altonaga this week said that was irrelevant and Cohl’s suit could proceed.
She wrote: “The mere statement by the Rolling Stones that they have no firm plans for a tour does not, at this stage in the proceedings, negate the defendants’ claim of damages. That the Rolling Stones may not have made any firm plans does not mean they have not engaged in negotiations regarding promotional rights for potential tours. Moreover, the defendants’ claim of reputational damages sustained as a result of Live Nation’s [alleged] breach is not dependent on whether or not the Rolling Stones have actual plans for a tour”.
