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Resource 4 . 2 . 2
10 minutes

Fredianelli v. Jenkins

8/20/2024 pdw

Paul Weitzel

'90s rock bank Third Eye Blind consisted of:

  • Stephan Jenkins (singer): Led the band, took a lot of the money, ruled with an iron fist
  • Eric Godtland (manager): Was fired and sued by Jenkins
  • Tony Fredianelli (lead guitarist): This is our plaintiff. He's suing the band for royalties. In Jenkins's suit against Godtland, Tony testified against Godtland but felt bad about it so he apologized to Godtland. The apology made Jenkins mad, so Jenkins fired him. Iron fist.
  • Kevin Cadogan (lead guitarist): Fired two months after their last platinum album
  • Arion Salazar (bass guitarist): Quit after they cut his pay; also once fought Green Day's bassist at a music festival
  • Brad Hargreaves (drummer): Not fired yet

In this case, Fredianelli, the lead guitarist, is suing the band for royalty payments. He claims the band was a general partnership. The court considers profit sharing and control, and sides against Fredianelli.

United States District Court for the Northern District of California
931 F. Supp. 2d 1001
No. C-11-3232 EMC
2013-03-14

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