According to Blabbermouth, the 1.8 million-dollar suit filed against San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD, their manager Joseph Huston, record label Nuclear Blast, and current bassist Jared MacEachern by former MACHINE HEAD bassist Adam Duce was settled out of court yesterday (Wednesday, July 2). The terms of the deal remain confidential, but both sides were able to reach a satisfactory agreement.
All claims in the dispute have been dropped against all parties named, including but not limited to the $800,000 claim against the band for breach of fiduciary duty and interference with prospective economic advantage, as well as the $1,000,000 defamation claim against MACHINE HEAD singer/guitarist Robb Flynn regarding a blog he posted on the band’s official web site and associated social-media sites.
The settlement between MACHINE HEAD and Duce was mediated by Gail Migdal Title, with the litigation team for MACHINE HEAD handled by Kari Keidser, Dawn Coulson and Randall Rich of Epps & Coulson, along with longtime MACHINE HEAD entertainment lawyer Scott Harrington.
In his original complaint, Duce claimed that although MACHINE HEAD formed a general partnership and a corporation under which each member owned 25 percent, Flynn got a larger portion of the band’s income. MACHINE HEAD’s 2009 tour, which included dates with METALLICA, grossed more than $2 million. A 2012 Europe tour grossed more than $3 million, according to Duce’s complaint.