Do you remember Sly Stone's performance at Coachella 2010? The ranting, the raving, the general train wreck of it all?
Well his comments in Indio are coming back to haunt him. This just came across from the Associated Press:
The founder of the funk-rock group Sly & the Family Stone lost a round in court today when a judge ruled a defamation claim within a countersuit by his former manager can move forward.
Gerald Goldstein maintains Sylvester Stewart implied he was a thief when he told fans at the Cochella Music and Arts Festival on April 18, ``F --- slander. The white boy's name is Jerry Goldstein. He's part of it. What he did was he stole so much money; at the same time, I made so much money that I didn't know I was being stolen from.''
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark V. Mooney denied a motion by Stewart's lawyers to dismiss the claim. They said the comments were protected free speech, but Mooney said that Goldstein's attorneys had presented a case for defamation that on its face is enough to move forward.
``I'm not saying that you may not ultimately prevail,'' the judge told Stewart's lawyers.
The other causes of action within the countersuit were not part of today's motion.
Stewart, 67, a.k.a. Sly Stone, began the legal battle when he sued Goldstein Jan. 28, alleging fraud, breach of contract and the diversion and misappropriation of the singer's royalties and assets for more than 20 years.
The suit asks for an accounting from royalty collection companies to determine actual amounts taken, which it estimates to be $20 million to $30 million.
The suit also seeks punitive damages.
Named as co-defendants are several Goldstein-controlled companies and collaborators.
``On the eve of the Grammys that celebrate the best of our artists, we see a dark side of the music business, where some of these artists are being robbed of their intellectual property and the fruits of their genius by unscrupulous people who prey on their trusting nature and lack of business and legal knowledge,'' Stewart's lawyer, Robert J. Allan, said when the case was filed.
According to the lawsuit, Goldstein used the entertainer's royalties to live a lavish lifestyle and purchase luxurious properties worth more than $80 million through trusts and offshore corporations.
Joining Stewart as a plaintiff is radio mogul Ken Roberts, a former manager, who claims Goldstein stole the name and identity of a company Roberts incorporated in 1975 when he managed Stewart, so Goldstein could obtain the singer's royalties from Broadcast Music Inc.
Sly & The Family Stone, which started performing in 1966, attracted a multicultural fan base by combining soul, funk and psychedelic music in such songs as ``Dance to the Music'' and ``I Want to Take You Higher.''
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
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