Johnny Ramone’s widow Linda Cummings-Ramone wins legal victory over Joey Ramone’s brother Mickey Leigh, The two are locked in a never-ending battle for control of the avant-garde punk band’s legacy.
In a ruling published on Tuesday (December 10), an arbitrator ruled that Leigh’s manager, David FreyMust be terminated from the board of directors of Ramones Productions Inc., the corporate entity that controls the band’s music and other assets.
The arbitrator ruled that Frey breached his fiduciary duty to the company and said Leigh’s manager “cultivated a dysfunctional and destructive relationship” with Cummings-Raymond and engaged in “conduct that harmed the Ramone brand, Rather than promoting the brand”.
“Mr. Frey repeatedly engaged in destructive and negative conduct that was detrimental to RPI and the promotion of the Ramones family,” former federal district judge Shira Scheindlin wrote in a privately released decision on Dec. 5. legacy. There is no doubt that Mr. Frey’s actions harmed RPI by preventing it from achieving greater financial success.
One of the major failings cited by the arbitrator was Foley’s failure to seek Cummings-Lemon’s approval for a film based on Leigh’s memoir, I slept with Joey Ramone — A film project announced by Netflix in 2021 that will star actor Pete Davidson in the title role.
Scheindlin said Frey was “well aware” that he was obligated to get Cummings-Ramones’ approval “before agreeing to the project” because the film will almost certainly feature the group’s music, which Rights belong to Ramones Productions. The judge also cited an email from Netflix describing the planned film as not just a Joey biopic but “The Ramones Story.”
“Based on substantial credible evidence, Mr Frey breached his duties of care, honesty and loyalty by failing to provide [Netflix] “The transaction was submitted to Ms. Cummings-Ramone and/or the RPI Board of Directors for approval,” the judge wrote.
in a statement advertising billboard On Wednesday (December 11), Cummings-Lemone said she was “thrilled” because they “can now finally move forward and create and expand the legacy of the best band ever.”
“For me, preserving this heritage is not only a responsibility but also a deeply personal mission,” she said. “I have dedicated my life to honoring and preserving the extraordinary contributions my husband and his band made to music, culture and the lives of millions of people around the world.”
Lawyers representing Heyman and Frey did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Joey Ramone (real name Jeffrey Ross Hyman) and Johnny Ramone (John William Cummings) are not actually brothers, and they had a well-known feud over their decades as band members cold relationship. The feud between Lee and Cummings-Lemone appears to have been ongoing since the pair’s deaths in the 2000s.
As executors of Joey and Johnny’s respective estates, Leigh and Cummings-Ramon each own half of Ramones Productions. But the partnership has not gone well, with numerous lawsuits and arbitrations occurring over the past decade.
The latest kerfuffle began in January, when Cummings-Lemon sued Lee in New York state court, accusing him and Frey of “secretly” producing the “unauthorized” biopic. Cummings-Ramon said in the lawsuit that any “definitive story about the Ramones” would require her signature: “Allowing defendants alone to tell the definitive story about the Ramones would be an injustice to the band and its legacy.” of.
As a key part of the case, Cummings-Raymond requested that Frey be removed from the Ramones Productions board of directors, arguing that his “continued involvement and obfuscation remain a significant impediment to resolving the most immediate operational issues.” In May, the judge in the case ordered Scheindlin to resolve the issue through arbitration.
In the ruling granting the request, the arbitrator cited Markie Raymond’s (Mark Bell) statement calling Frey “extremely destructive” and CJ Raymond’s (Christopher Joseph Ward) statement , i.e. “I don’t think he was ever working in the best interest of the company.” Scheindlin also cited an email in which a former company accountant told Frey: “You are making it impossible to do what needs to be done.”
“While I agree that there are two sides to every story, the overwhelming evidence shows that Mr. Frey established a dysfunctional and damaging relationship with Ms. Cummings-Lemmon, former band members, and RPI’s suppliers and partners. sexual relationship,” Scheindlin wrote in her decision. “This conduct harms the interests of RPI and its shareholders.”
In a particularly colorful passage, Judge describes an incident last summer, when the Met offered to let the Queens-based band celebrate its 50th anniversary.th anniversary, Cummings-Lemon threw out the ceremonial first pitch in a game in August. But Frey ultimately refused to allow her to compete under the simpler name “Linda Ramone” – a key point of contention in their various legal battles over the years.
Scheindlin said in the decision that Frey had “no credible basis for refusing to consent to Ms. Cummings-Lemon’s use of Linda Raymond’s name for the first pitch,” depriving the band of a valuable opportunity to enhance its public image. .
“This is clearly a very high-profile opportunity to celebrate the orchestra’s 50th anniversary,” the arbitrator wrote in the ruling. “There is no reason to lose this opportunity other than to continue the animosity and dysfunction between the two shareholders and their representatives.”
The ruling, which must be confirmed by a New York judge, resolves only one issue in the larger lawsuit, with other issues still to be resolved in court. Leigh also filed a separate lawsuit in federal court accusing her of trademark infringement and other violations; that case remains pending.
