The mother of late Alice In Chains vocalist, Layne Staley, has filed a lawsuit against the remaining members of the band, demanding the royalties she has been receiving continue to come in. The original agreement between parties was that Nancy McCallum would receive cheques from the band’s account for 10 years, bit it seems the arrangement was coming to an end.
The court papers claim members Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney informed McCallum that the payments would stop now that the decade long term has expired. Staley’s mum has other plans in mind, seeking 16% of the band’s royalties, which would be half the amount Staley would be earning if he were still alive. The band’s lawyer Peter Paterno has said McCallum previously tried to trademark the name Alice In Chains, which Paterno found ‘disturbing’.
Staley died in April, 2002 following a long addiction to heroin. Having released three studio albums, an acoustic live disc and two EPs with the band, he soon became detached and distant from the group as well as family and friends. His body wasn’t found until 2 weeks after the estimated time of death.
The surviving band mates claim his heirs will be entitled to royalties on songs Staley wrote, or co-wrote but claim McCallum no longer has any hand in running the band as a business.
(Via Blabbermouth)
