djdaffy1227
10-08-04, 04:30 AM
from www.eonline.com
Petty Running Down a Lawsuit
by Josh Grossberg
Oct 7, 2004, 2:00 PM PT
Songwriter to Tom Petty: Don't do me like that!
A California songwriter has filed a $4.5 million breach of oral contract lawsuit against Tom Petty and Los Angeles-based disc jockey Jim Ladd, claiming they swiped his concepts for the basis of Petty's 2002 title track and album, The Last DJ.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Jim Wagner, alleges the musician sent a demo tape of his song about the deejay titled "The Last Great Radio DJ" to Ladd in 2000. Ladd liked what he heard and asked to use it as the theme to his nightly radio program at L.A.'s KLOS.
Per court documents obtained by City News Service, a "thrilled" Wagner then "readily agreed to the request without even requesting any form of compensation."
The complaint contends that the two established an oral contract between them when they jointly agreed that the tune would be featured on the show and that "there was implied both in-fact and by law" that Wagner would be compensated should "The Last Great Radio DJ" be broadcast in any other form outside Ladd's show.
However, Wagner accuses Ladd of passing the demo on to Petty, who according to the suit, "promptly took the idea, theme, title and overall 'feel' of the song and wrote and recorded his 'version' of the song, which he entitled 'The Last DJ.'"
The suit asserts that the "Refugee" singer's subsequent Warner Bros. release titled The Last DJ undercut the commercial value of the plaintiff's song to the point where it was essentially "dead."
Wagner believes he's entitled to $1.5 million of the profits Petty and company made from "The Last DJ"'s success. He's seeking damages of $4.5 million.
Wagner's attorney, Paul Levine, said his client won't back down.
"This is a private matter that we're attempting to resolve," Levine told E! Online. "The only reason I filed the suit was because the statue of limitations was about to expire, and we're still trying to settle this amicably."
Petty could not be reached for comment through his label, Warner Bros. Records. Calls to KLOS-FM and Ladd were not returned.
Petty is back in the studio with the Heartbreakers working on a new album, due out in 2005.
Petty Running Down a Lawsuit
by Josh Grossberg
Oct 7, 2004, 2:00 PM PT
Songwriter to Tom Petty: Don't do me like that!
A California songwriter has filed a $4.5 million breach of oral contract lawsuit against Tom Petty and Los Angeles-based disc jockey Jim Ladd, claiming they swiped his concepts for the basis of Petty's 2002 title track and album, The Last DJ.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Jim Wagner, alleges the musician sent a demo tape of his song about the deejay titled "The Last Great Radio DJ" to Ladd in 2000. Ladd liked what he heard and asked to use it as the theme to his nightly radio program at L.A.'s KLOS.
Per court documents obtained by City News Service, a "thrilled" Wagner then "readily agreed to the request without even requesting any form of compensation."
The complaint contends that the two established an oral contract between them when they jointly agreed that the tune would be featured on the show and that "there was implied both in-fact and by law" that Wagner would be compensated should "The Last Great Radio DJ" be broadcast in any other form outside Ladd's show.
However, Wagner accuses Ladd of passing the demo on to Petty, who according to the suit, "promptly took the idea, theme, title and overall 'feel' of the song and wrote and recorded his 'version' of the song, which he entitled 'The Last DJ.'"
The suit asserts that the "Refugee" singer's subsequent Warner Bros. release titled The Last DJ undercut the commercial value of the plaintiff's song to the point where it was essentially "dead."
Wagner believes he's entitled to $1.5 million of the profits Petty and company made from "The Last DJ"'s success. He's seeking damages of $4.5 million.
Wagner's attorney, Paul Levine, said his client won't back down.
"This is a private matter that we're attempting to resolve," Levine told E! Online. "The only reason I filed the suit was because the statue of limitations was about to expire, and we're still trying to settle this amicably."
Petty could not be reached for comment through his label, Warner Bros. Records. Calls to KLOS-FM and Ladd were not returned.
Petty is back in the studio with the Heartbreakers working on a new album, due out in 2005.