The surviving members of Soundgarden have countersued Chris Cornell's widow Vicky Cornell and the Chris Cornell estate. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Miami on Wednesday (May 6th), accuses them of using revenue from a January 2019 Chris Cornell tribute concert for personal purposes for Vicky and her family.
Among the claims in the suit are allegations that Vicky Cornell and the estate engaged in “fraudulent inducement” by asking surviving members Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron to perform for free at the concert with the understanding that the event's revenues would go for charitable purposes.
Soundgarden alleges that the recipients of the proceeds from the tribute concert — which they claim could be “many millions of dollars” — “have not been identified.” They accuse Vicky Cornell of using portions of the money for personal purposes, saying that assurances of the money's charitable use were “false, or exhibited recklessness and negligence as to its truth or falsity.”
To date, the band says Vicky has only accounted for $643,000 going to medical research. They have demanded a full accounting of the disbursement of funds. The countersuit also claims that Vicky Cornell has taken over Soundgarden's social media accounts and identified herself as Soundgarden while using the accounts to make disparaging statements about the surviving members of the group.
The suit comes two months after the band asked a judge to dismiss Vicky Cornell's suit against them over possession of Chris Cornell's final recordings. Vicky claims “sole ownership” of the seven vocal tracks, which the band claims were meant for a Soundgarden album.
Vicky Cornell's lawyer, Marty Singer, issued a response to the countersuit, accusing the surviving members of Soundgarden of “salacious, scurrilous, and vicious allegations in order to distract from the truth.” He added that all money raised from the tribute concert was “properly allocated and accounted for.”