Hardcore legends Hatebreed surprised fans earlier this year when they announced that founding bassist Chris Beattie was no longer touring with the group. Beattie shared a lengthy response saying it wasn’t his decision. “I want to clarify that the decision to leave the band was not mine and that my departure was uncalled for and based on misleading and wrongful statements that will be subject to future actions,” he wrote.
The “future actions” ended up in the bassist suing his former band. Beattie said in his lawsuit that he was the “driving force behind the band’s sound and identity until his sudden and baseless expulsion.” He also accused Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta of “increasingly erratic” behavior “culminating in a unilateral decision to cut Beattie off from his career, fans, touring, and substantial expected revenue.”
Recently, Hatebreed and Jasta fired a motion (as reported by Blabbermouth) to strike some of Beattie’s claims saying the split was a “garden variety band break-up case.” Hatebreed’s response also said Beattie is “a disgruntled former band member” who “erroneously asserts a right to remain a permanent member in perpetuity despite the fact that the underlying relationship between the parties was terminable at-will.”
The motion adds: “Beattie claims he provided ‘decades-long contributions’ to the Band, and his share of the Band’s revenue is now being inequitably withheld by Hatebreed following his termination. His unjust enrichment claim is insufficiently pled because Beattie fails to allege he is entitled to Band revenue in perpetuity after termination based simply on his prior contributions to the Band.”
