Mötley Crüe Wins Case Against Founding Guitarist Mick Mars

Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil, Tommy Lee, and Nikki Sixx have won a judgment against their co-founding member and former guitarist Mick Mars for taking a $750,000 advance for a 2022 tour, then dropping out due to health reasons.

Variety magazine reported Thursday that an arbitrator ruled the band "was within its rights to dismiss [Mars] as an officer in their business affairs as well as band member, for cause, once he dropped out of their touring due to health issues."

"In a ruling obtained by Variety, the arbitrator, retired federal judge Patrick J. Walsh, determined that Mars owes his former bandmates about $750,000 in advance money that he had taken for a tour he ultimately dropped out of. But the group owes him just over $500,000 for his quarter stake in the band after he was fired, so the balance Mars must pay his ex-Cruemates comes out to about $244,000."

Walsh acknowledged that Mars had argued that other bands "like Earth, Wind & Fire and The Beach Boys, have provided for their founding/legacy members even after they stopped performing with the band. I do not doubt that that is true and, had the parties agreed to such an arrangement, whether formally or informally, I certainly would have upheld it. But they did not."

Mötley Crüe (L to R): Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Tommy Lee (Photo credit: Ross Marino)