Mötley Crüe have declared victory in their bitter split with Mick Mars.
The founding guitarist had claimed the metal band unjustly fired him and cut off payments after he bowed out of a world tour due to chronic illness.
In a final arbitration award filed in Los Angeles, a retired judge ruled that bandmates Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee and Vince Neil were within their rights to remove Mars as an officer and director of Mötley Crüe Inc. after he stepped away from a US stadium tour in 2022.
Mars was – and is – suffering from chronic inflammatory arthritis known as ankylosing spondylitis.
Mars previously told Rolling Stone that he never retired from the band entirely and remained available for a residency or studio work. But the band terminated him, he said, triggering a bitter legal fight.
In the final ruling, the arbitrator upheld the band’s firing decision and ordered Mars to repay $750,030 (£543,059) from an advance because he missed 69 live shows.
The judge also ruled Mars must sell his ownership stake in the iconic group to Sixx, Lee and Neil.
“This dispute was about protecting the integrity and legacy of one of the most successful bands in rock history,” Mötley Crüe’s lawyer said in a statement. “With the arbitrator rejecting every claim and enforcing the parties’ agreements as written, the band has been fully vindicated legally, financially and factually.”
Mars’ lawyer, Ed McPherson, blasted the ruling.
“The decision is awful,” he told Rolling Stone.
“It’s not fair. This band has never been fair to Mick. 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.'”
