We haven't checked in with Chris Fehn's lawsuit against Slipknot since the top of the year, and that's likely because there has been little movement. Now, it looks as though the lawsuit has reached its final destination – mediation, where the two sides present their case to a third party that helps them reach a settlement.
Fehn claimed Slipknot and their management was keeping money from him in a motion filed in 2019, setting up corporations that he was not aware of. Fehn had since been dismissed from the band, even though the statement has since been pulled from the band's website. Frontman Corey Taylor has publicly said he and his band are being wrongfully accused. Taylor and Slipknot management have asked for the case to be thrown out.
Fehn specifically called out Corey Taylor and Shawn Crahan for shady business dealings:
[Fehn] claims to have always been told that the money from merchandise and touring is funneled through one sole company that splits profits and pays the members of the band. However, Fehn claims he recently discovered that his bandmates have set up several other Slipknot affiliated business entities in different states that appear to be collecting money from the band.
MetalSucks has gotten a hold of a document filed on June 18 signed by Justice Melissa Anne Crane, who has been overseeing the matter, saying the case was ordered to be referred to a mediator:
“This case having come before the court on May 15, 2020, and the court having determined that it is appropriate and the parties would benefit from an opportunity to participate in mediation, the parties and counsel are directed to appear for mediation and therefore, it is ORDERED, that the matter is hereby referred to Deborah Edelman, Esq, Special Referee, of New York County Supreme Court (“Mediator”), and it is further ORDERED, that counsel are directed to contact Ms. Edelman either via [email] or [phone] within three business days of the date of this order;”.
Unfortunately, for us snooping Slipknot fans, that means the rest of the case will be settled in a private matter and we likely will never know the details, unless one of the parties starts talking.
The order explicitly states "mediator or any other person present shall be confidential, and shall not be disclosed in any present or future judicial or administrative proceeding." For a settlement to be reached, both parties have to agree to the terms, so there is a small chance that mediation doesn't work and they will end up going back to court. But, the fact that both parties agreed to mediation to begin with shows they are willing to negoitate.
One wrinkle in Fehn's plan is that motion six of his lawsuit, which Fehn claims Slipknot was an equal partnership between he and the other members, even though never formally written, has been dismissed, as Fehn has no evidence of this agreement. The dismissal reads "Plaintiff fails to plead any essential term of the contract, any specific provisions breached or any rate of compensation."
For Fehn, this likely means the settlement amount will be much smaller. The teleconference between both parties' lawyers and the judge is scheduled for October 29th, which is likely when this whole thing will end.
