Five Finger Death Punch are Being Sued by Their Record Label
According to Blabbermouth, Five Finger Death Punch are being sued by their record label, Prospect Park (gotta love the backyard at the Sea Witch).
In the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in California Superior Court, the label makes the following claims:
“Regrettably, with the encouragement and assistance of their entertainment lawyer and business manager, the members of FFDP have unequivocally repudiated their contractual obligations to permit Prospect Park to determine the recording elements of a new record and a greatest hits record. In doing so, the members of FFDP are shamelessly attempting to cash in before the anticipated downfall of their addicted bandmate.
“By this action, Prospect Park seeks to hold FFDP true to its obligations under its written recording contract, thereby allowing Prospect Park to obtain the benefit of the bargain it struck in that agreement, and at the same time, to prevent the band from disregarding the health and safety of a bandmate and destroying itself.”
Yikes, that’s fucking brutal, right? Wait, it gets worse:
“In recent months, members of FFDP and their representatives have repeatedly told Prospect Park of their extreme concern for the health and well-being of Moody, whose escalating substance abuse is placing both the future of FFDP, and indeed his life, at risk. FFDP’s own words demonstrate this fact: (a) a November 28,2015 text that the ‘the writing is on the wall,’ and that, ‘it’s a matter of time before [Ivan] hits the wall — and once he does — it will be too late to sell’; (b) a December 3, 2015 email stating: ‘if Ivan does something stupid — dies…., goes away to jail — then the catalog is a bust — then we won’t be able to sell and we’ll be trying to salvage what we can — IF we can … so to me it’s imperative to make a move and sell]’; (c) a January 8, 2015 text referring to Ivan as a ‘ticking time bomb’ that was getting in the way of an “8 digit payday” for FFDP; (d) a January 19, 2016 text stating: ‘there is no sign of him slowing down both his health and his behavior is deteriorating — heaps of legal troubles and he is burning the candle at both ends.’; and (e) a January 19, 2016 text stating: ‘I don’t want to cry doomsday … but I don’t want to be saying I told you so either (as far as Ivan is concerned) — there is a moment we need to cash out the chips — betting one more hand is almost irresponsible at this point.” More recently, [the members of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH] have notified [Prospect Park] that Moody is in an in-patient rehabilitation facility for an unknown duration of time.
“On information and belief, Prospect Park alleges that the other members of FFDP seek to capitalize monetarily as soon as possible, at the expense of Moody’s health and welfare, and the clear mandates contained in the Recording Agreement.”
Jesus.
Well, it’s certainly no secret that Ivan Moody has issues with alcoholism, which likely led to both his recent hospitalization and certainly is part of the restraining order filed against him by his own sister. Obviously, Moody needs help, and should seek it immediately.
But fucking Christ, the claim that the band is basically using Moody’s addiction issues as a way to get out of their recording contract and make as much money as they can before he destroys himself is pretty fucking intense. That the band members have been texting and e-mailing about the possibility that Moody could die or be incarcerated for his drunken behavior–and that there aren’t backup texts saying, “Oh fuck, we’ve got to help our friend before we worry about anything else”–is shocking to say the least.
That’s what separates this from other legal issues, such the recent lawsuit Warner Bros.’ filed against Avenge Sevenfold for trying to get out of their contract. In that case, there wasn’t the risk of someone’s death somehow fucking up their payday.
It’ll be interesting to see how FFDP responds to this announcement. Given how FFDP have dealt with this kind of controversy in the past, it’s more than likely that Zoltan Bathory will come out saying that the band doesn’t even have a record label, or a member named Ivan Moody.
