According to Rolling Stone, Mastodon have filed a new motion to partially dismiss the lawsuit filed against them by the estate of the late Brent Hinds. That complaint was pursued by Hinds’ father Billy in response to the guitarist’s ownership interests and the use of his likeness following his death.
Mastodon’s legal team disputed claims regarding money allegedly owed for using Hinds’ likeness on their latest album “Marrow Deep” and the “buyout process” for his interests:
“Even assuming the truth of the Estate’s allegations, large swaths of the Complaint’s legal theories fail to state a claim and should be dismissed.”
The attorneys also claimed that Mastodon is a limited liability company and that individual members should not be considered liable. They also added that offers from subsidiaries were not binding and that Hinds’ estate are not able to name their own buyout prices:
“The Complaint cannot allege an agreed purchase price — it does not even allege that Hinds offered a purchase price when he requested to be bought out.”
The filing also defended the decision to use Hinds’ image for “Marrow Deep,” citing an alleged failure to prove a fiduciary relationship between the band and his appearance in the artwork. They went on to say that the estate should better explain how it wants his likeness used in the future:
“To the extent it seeks to prohibit future uses, it seeks to direct [Mastodon’s] future conduct rather than obtain guidance concerning its own.”
The band also disputed claims regarding Hinds’ 25% ownership interest:
“While the Estate alleges that [Mastodon] purported to redeem those interests and refused to recognize its rights, there is no allegation that [Mastodon] seized, transferred, or withheld any stock certificates or other documents embodying Hinds’s interests.”
Leave a Reply