Legal News

Just Another Suit Outta Boston . . .

By Ashby Jones

Question: Is there a better FM-radio song than Boston’s “More than a Feelin’?”

Answer: There are some as good, like Rush’s “Limelight,” The Doors’ “LA Woman,” and Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade of Pale,” but none better, we would argue. The 1976 song is, for us, a five-minute pleasure cruise of bliss on a river of liquid endorphines. (No, we’re not sure that line makes entire sense, but you get the idea.)

In recent years, however, the band and its members have fallen on some tough times. In 2007, the lead singer, Brad Delp, committed suicide. Attempts to forge a new album without Delp have reportedly gone slowly. And now the band’s founder, Tommy Scholz, has become embroiled in a lawsuit. A rather strange lawsuit.

The news comes courtesy of the Boston Globe. Scholz sued another Boston paper — the Herald — last week, alleging that two reporters for the paper defamed him by writing that Delp's ex-wife, Micki, blamed Scholz for the singer's death. Click here to view a copy of the suit, courtesy of the Globe.

Libel cases in the U.S. aren’t all that easy to win. When brought against public figures, courts typically require a plaintiff to show that the defendant uttered or published the false statement with “actual malice,” which isn’t easy to prove.

That said, Scholz seems to have a little history on his side — he’s being represented by Todd & Weld’s Howard Cooper, who successfully sued the Herald for libel in 2005.

Said Cooper, on the latest suit: "We have filed this complaint in an effort to correct the very substantial defamation by the Boston Herald and its reporters of Tom Scholz at the time when his former Boston bandmate took his own life.”

A Boston Herald spokeswoman told the Globe: "We're aware of the complaint and we will review it,'' she said. "Beyond that, we have no further comment.''

Law Blog YouTube Video of the Day: The title to this post is an allusion to a lyric, “Just Another Band Outta Boston” from the group’s song “Rock and Roll Band.” Click here for an altogether different sort of music video for the song. One word: Claymation!

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on March 17, 2010 (boomark / email).