The Offspring emerges victorious in legal battle with former drummer
A Los Angeles judge has ruled in favor of punk band The Offspring in a long-standing legal dispute with former drummer Ron Welty. Welty, who played with the band from 1987 to 2003, had claimed that he was owed millions more in profits from the band’s $35 million catalog sale to Round Hill Music in 2015.
Welty accused lead singer Dexter Holland of trying to erase his contributions to the band’s success, including failing to pay him his rightful share of the sale of the band’s rights. However, Judge William F. Fahey largely rejected these claims after a bench trial last fall, calling some of Welty’s accusations “completely illogical”. In a final ruling on Monday, the judge sided with The Offspring on all remaining claims, and ordered that Welty “shall take nothing”.
Welty’s lawyer Jordanna G. Thigpen has vowed to appeal the decision. The lawsuit, filed in September 2020, claimed that the band had forced Welty out of the band without cause and owed him millions of dollars.
The dispute centered on the 2015 sale of the band’s music to Round Hill, which included the recorded masters for six studio albums and a greatest hits album, as well as the band’s music publishing rights covering its entire career. Welty claimed that he was owed a portion of the $15 million that Holland earned from the sale of his publishing rights. However, Judge Fahey ruled in January that the deal had been “structured in accordance with industry standards” and that Welty had failed to prove that he was entitled to a cut of Holland’s $15 million.
In Monday’s decision, Judge Fahey confirmed that his January ruling had effectively ended the case and that “no issues remained to be tried”.
