A new legal filing from Jonathan Cain accuses Journey bandmate Neal Schon of reneging on a mediated agreement to end their bitter public feud over band finances.
Schon made a public statement last week stating that he’d agreed to Cain’s request to appoint a tiebreaking third party to help manage Freedom 2020, the business subsidiary Cain and Schon formed to manage their touring operation. Cain’s latest petition to a Delaware judge says Schon is “now seeking to inappropriately limit the role of the custodian.”
Cain’s lawyer Kasey H. DeSantis calls this “inconsistent with respondent’s counsel’s prior communications with the court and Discovery Facilitator Joseph Slights explicitly agreeing to the appointment of a third deadlock-breaking director.”
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Cain filed a lawsuit in late July charging Schon with creating deep financial strains on the group’s ongoing stadium tour with Def Leppard and Steve Miller through rampant overspending. He said Schon was wasting up to $10,000 a night, while again maxing out the group’s American Express card.
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Judge J. Travis Laster fast-tracked the proceedings at a hearing held on Aug. 7 and appointed Slights, an ex-Delaware judge, to serve as a mediator in the case. Schon then accused Cain of being “slanderous” and creating a “very toxic work environment” in social media posts.
Nevertheless, they reportedly came to a tentative agreement to resolve the matter on Aug. 22. Now Cain is asking Laster to approve the earlier version of the agreement.
Journey’s fall 2024 shows in the U.K. and Ireland were abruptly canceled after Cain filed suit. It’s unclear what role, if any, was played by background financial issues or this new legal wrangling. Journey’s current dates with Def Leppard conclude in early September. They previously toured together in 2018.
Nick DeRiso is author of the Amazon best-selling rock band bio ‘Journey: Worlds Apart,’ available now at all major bookseller websites.
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