Journey’s Legal Problems Continue in Exhausting Fashion
Journey guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain continue to fight it out over their ongoing legal issues.
There are two new developments to this saga. First, Schon issued a lengthy statement via Facebook on August 22 stating that he and Cain have agreed to bring in a third party to help resolve their current issues. Schon hoped the third party will “bring clarity to what we’re doing and allow us, as a band, to get back to what we should all focus on – making music and performing for our fans.”
However, on August 26, Cain’s legal representation filed new court documents stating Schon was not agree to a third party and noted he was “attempting to backtrack on his agreement for the Court to appoint a custodian to serve as a third, deadlock breaking director of [Journey business entity] Freedom 2020, Inc., and is now seeking inappropriately limit the role of the custodian.”
It’s the latest development in a very long, annoying legal battle between Schon and Cain. The bandmates’ recent issues are related to an American Express card. As previously reported, Cain filed a lawsuit on July 30 in Delaware against Schon and Freedom 2020, Inc., the operating entity that handles Journey-related business. (Freedom 2020, Inc. is based in Delaware.) In the lawsuit, Cain accused Schon and his wife, Michaele, of overusing the business’s American Express card for personal expenses, even though the card is meant to be used for Journey business expenses.
Cain’s lawsuit states that he and Schon each have their own card attached to the account. While the account, itself, has a $1 million limit, Cain and Schon’s cards have limits of $30,000. However, Cain’s lawsuit alleges Schon and his wife were able to work around their $30,000 limit to access more value on the account.
Following news of the lawsuit, Journey canceled its upcoming U.K./Ireland tour, which consisted of 11 shows. Fans who purchased tickets to those shows reportedly received an email that states, “Due to circumstances beyond the band’s control, Journey’s UK and Ireland tour is unfortunately canceled. Refunds will be made from your point of purchase.”A reason for the sudden tour cancelation has not been disclosed, but many outlets are pointing to Schon and Cain’s lawsuit as the potential reason.
Neal Schon Responds
The Journey guitarist took to X (formerly Twitter) on August 11 and wrote at length about the ongoing legal issues. Schon responded to a fan’s question about whether he and his wife couldn’t stop spending the band’s money and whether Journey was marching toward a breakup. He addressed the many recent reports and wrote of his and his wife’s spending, ” …My wife and I have great relationships with different managers of hotels. They got us great deals if we want to upgrade. All have understood for many years as she travels with me every show, it comes out of my pocket in the end. This was also ‘approved’ in our private zoom meetings with Jon and [his wife] Paula. I do pay for it and always have.”
Schon continued, “This is the second time Jonathan Cain has sued me for the same thing we’ve already been through in court – that case was dropped by both of us. We both agreed to drop and move forward with prejudice. That means that you never open it again. Well, here we are again in the middle of a wonderful tour with our good friends, Def Leppard and Steve Miller. We do have very good solutions to ease the situation with Jon Cain‘s credit card, who set up in his name and instead of the band, although he receives all the rewards. The solution is get rid of the credit card, I let the promoter take on all responsibilities and pay us all individually or equal money, and we travel as we wish. Sounds like a good solution, right? Let’s see how this plays out.”
The guitarist concluded, ” … I’ll see you at our next gig. I’ll be kicking some ass. Don’t believe all you read in the media. It’s all manipulated and contrived as they wish it to be. I’m taking a higher road.”
