DAVID LEE ROTH Pressing Forward With Lawsuit Against VAN HALEN

May 28, 2003

Former VAN HALEN frontman David Lee Roth is continuing to move forward with his lawsuit against the band over unpaid royalties, according to Launch.

Roth's lawsuit, filed on December 11 in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that the group didn't include him in a 1996 renegotiation of its contract with Warner Brothers Records, thereby resulting in a financial inequity. "If you buy VAN HALEN I now, if I make 10 cents, the bass player (Michael Anthony) makes 30 cents. And if I make a hundred dollars, the drummer (Alex Van Halen) will make close to three hundred dollars. And I've always maintained since I wrote all the words, and all the lyrics, and all of the harmonies, and structured the tunes, designed most of the album covers — and when MTV happened for everybody, I wrote and directed the videos — with all of that, I should make 25 percent. What do you think?"

Roth's suit is still pending while both sides file legal briefs. Neither Van Halen Music LLC nor Warner Bros., who are co-defendants, would comment on the suit.

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