Eddie Money Loses Motion to Dismiss Claims in Ex-Drummer’s Wrongful Termination Lawsuit
Eddie Money has lost a round in the wrongful termination lawsuit against him filed by Glenn Symmonds, his former drummer. A California state court refused his motion to dismiss some of Symmonds' claims, and the suit is scheduled to go to trial in November.
The news appears in Billboard, adding that Money plans to appeal the decision. One of his lawyers, Dina LaHolt, said in forceful terms that Symmonds' suit is without merit.
"Last I checked, this was still America and artists have the right to decide who plays in their faceless back-up band,” she began. “To force well-respected, seasoned artists to retain specific support musicians would strike an unacceptable blow to artistic integrity and we will not stand for it. Eddie is fighting for the rights of all musicians to have the freedom to choose how they want to express themselves.”
“Glenn Symmonds showed his true colors: he is a vindictive, ungrateful and awful person. That is why Eddie chose not have him back,” another of Money’s lawyers, Lincoln Bandlow, said. “Everything alleged in this lawsuit is a pack of lies.”
However, the court ruled in Money's favor in his attempt to limit how much information from the depositions filed by Money and his wife can be made public. Still, some of the details have already made it into the public record, including when Money compared his justifications for the dismissal to the songs on an imaginary album called The Reasons Why I Fired Glenn. "Song No. 1: 'He Was Detrimental to My Wife and Children on Social Media,'" he said, adding that the second track would be titled, “Is No Other Reason, Really.”
Money is claiming that, after firing Symmonds, the drummer sent him angry texts, complained on social media and threatened concert promoters. Symmonds, through his lawyer Lawrance Bohm, has denied those claims.
The suit was filed in October 2015, after Money decided to replace his band with his children. It ended a relationship between the two that dated back to 1974, and Symmonds' suit alleges that Money often mocked him as he recovered from bladder cancer and a back injury. Last year, Symmonds' fiancee, Tami Landrum, joined the suit, alleging that Money had sexually harassed her, including repeatedly making lewd comments, trying to kiss her and a 2013 private-party performance of "Think I'm in Love" where he “unzipped his pants, and put his thumb through his zipper (intending his thumb to look like his penis) and began to gyrate his hips and dance while he wiggled his thumb” while facing her.
Money has said that the allegations against him are "downright evil."
A statement by Symmonds' teams took aim at Money by using his titles from his own catalog. "Money truly has ‘No Control,’" it read. "‘Trouble’ has become his adopted middle name, and he’s about to take ‘The Big Crash.’ He’s been running with the devil, losing control everywhere, and is no longer in any position to buy ‘Two Tickets to Paradise.’ Money does not ‘Walk on Water’ -- he is no angel, and has made a number of illegal moves he will soon regret. Money should ‘Think Twice’ about what he has done in regards to his relationship with Symmonds and his financé (Tami) Landrum. It’s just a matter of time before he’ll be ‘Shakin’’ and found guilty. But ‘Don’t Worry’ -- as Glenn Symmonds knows -- you ‘Can’t Keep a Good Man Down.’"
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