Mick Mars’ legal representative has issued a strong statement following the guitarist’s recent legal defeat against Mötley Crüe, as reported by Rolling Stone.
The statement addressed the arbitrator’s ruling that allowed the band to dismiss Mars as both an officer in their business affairs and as a bandmember after he stepped back from touring due to health issues.
“The decision is awful. It’s not fair. This band has never been fair to Mick,” Ed McPherson, Mars’s lawyer, said to Rolling Stone.
McPherson elaborated on the circumstances surrounding Mars’s departure from touring duties.
“When Mick said ‘I can’t tour anymore because of a hideous disease, but I can still write, perform one-offs or residencies and record,’ they said, ‘Sorry, Mick. It’s been 43 years, but you’re out. Goodbye, and we don’t want to pay you anymore,'” he continued. “This arbitrator said it’s fine.”
The lawyer indicated that Mars’s legal team is considering their next steps while expressing the guitarist’s current stance toward the band.
“We need to figure out if we’re going to challenge [the decision]. It’s ridiculous. It’s just a question of whether he wants to keep pursuing this,” McPherson stated. “Basically, he’s over Mötley Crüe.”
The legal battle stems from a complex dispute that began when Mars stepped back from touring in 2022 due to his ongoing health struggles with ankylosing spondylitis, a degenerative spinal condition.
Ultimate Classic Rock reported that Mars claimed to have been unilaterally dismissed after his percentage of band profits had been cut from 25% to 5%. The guitarist filed his lawsuit in April 2024, alleging that the band wanted to reduce his share in profits from their earnings despite his 43-year tenure with the group.
The arbitration ruling delivered a comprehensive victory for Mötley Crüe on all fronts. Business Wire noted that the final arbitration award rejected every claim Mars made against the band. Independent arbitrator Hon. Patrick J. Walsh not only upheld the band’s decisions but also imposed financial penalties on the guitarist.
The financial implications of the ruling proved particularly costly for Mars. Blabbermouth revealed that the final award upheld the band’s decision to terminate Mars as an officer and director for legal cause. The ruling also ordered him to repay more than $750,000 in tour advances. This substantial sum represents money the band had advanced to Mars for touring commitments he was ultimately unable to fulfill due to his health condition.
The ruling also addressed Mars’s allegations about the band’s live performances. Guitar World confirmed that the arbitrator found that Mars’s claims about band members miming during performances were false, further undermining his legal position against his former bandmates.
