Guitarists previously bickered over band’s credit card, with Cain accusing Schon of excessive spending
Journey’s current stadium tour with Def Leppard became a little less awkward Thursday as band mates Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon reached a legal solution in their court battle involving the group’s credit card.
Back in November 2022, Schon sued Cain, saying he refused to give him access to the group’s American Express card and its records. Cain, in turn, accused Schon of “running up enormous personal charges on the band’s credit card account” due to “tremendous financial pressure as a result of his excessive spending.”
“Neal has always had access to the credit card statements; what he lacks — and what he is really seeking — is the ability to increase his spending limits,” Cain said at the time; both Cain and Schon own a 50-percent stake in the band’s touring company Freedom 2020, resulting in a “deadlock” between the two.
Despite this long-festering legal issue — as well as a since-withdrawn lawsuit against the pair filed by former singer Steve Perry over some Journey hits’ copyrights and Schon’s cease-and-desist against Cain to prevent Journey’s music from playing at Trump rallies — the band didn’t let the lawsuit impact matters onstage, as Journey continued to tour together amid the courthouse battle.
However, after independent arbitration failed and a September trial loomed, a resolution finally came Thursday when a Delaware Chancery Court judge appointed a third director to Freedom 2020, with former Vice Chancellor Joseph Slights now serving as “Custodian.” “Mr. Schon is prohibited from unilaterally acting on behalf of the Company and all future deadlock between Mr. Cain and Mr. Schon will be broken by the vote of the Custodian,” a rep for Cain said in a statement to Rolling Stone.
“Mr. Cain is elated with the outcome and looks forward to moving beyond this matter so that Journey can continue the band’s 50th Anniversary Freedom Tour.”