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Mötley Crüe has won the ongoing legal battle against former guitarist Mick Mars.
On Thursday, Jan. 29, it was ruled that bandmates Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee were permitted to remove the founding member as an officer and director in their business affairs, Rolling Stone and Variety report.
The alleged removal occurred after he stepped away from a U.S. stadium tour in September 2022 due to his chronic illness of ankylosing spondylitis, according to the April 2023 filing previously obtained by PEOPLE. Mars, 74, was diagnosed with the spinal disease when he was 27.
Retired federal judge Patrick J. Walsh ruled in the Thursday, Jan. 29, final arbitration that Sixx, Lee, and Neil were within their rights to dismiss Mars as both a band member and officer.
“Mars argues that it is immoral for him to be cast aside after forming the backbone of this group for more than four decades merely because his age and AS symptoms precluded him from performing,” Walsh said, Variety reports. “I am not unsympathetic to this argument but it is not for me in the context of this arbitration to weigh in on the morality of the band’s decision.”
It was also ruled that Mars owes his former bandmates $750,030 in advance money after missing 69 live shows, according to the documents. However, the three bandmates owe him a little over $505,737 for his stake in the band. As a result, Mars was ordered to pay the band $244,000.
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The band’s attorney, Sasha Frid, issued a statement obtained by PEOPLE: “This dispute was about protecting the integrity and legacy of one of the most successful bands in rock history.”
“With the arbitrator rejecting every claim and enforcing the parties’ agreements as written, the band has been fully vindicated—legally, financially, and factually,” Frid said.
Meanwhile, Mars’ lawyer, Ed McPherson, called the decision “awful,” Rolling Stone reports.
“It’s not fair. This band has never been fair to Mick,” McPherson said. “When Mick said I can’t tour anymore because of a hideous disease, but I can still write, perform one-offs or residencies, and record, they said, ‘Sorry Mick. It’s been 43 years, but you’re out. Goodbye, and we don’t want to pay you anymore.’ ”
“This arbitrator said it’s fine. We need to figure out if we’re going to challenge [the decision]. It’s ridiculous. It’s just a question of whether he wants to keep pursuing this,” McPherson said of the team’s next steps. “Basically, he’s over Mötley Crüe.”
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At the time of the initial filing, Mars also told Variety that his bandmates would play to pre-recorded tracks on their 2022 tour. “Nikki’s bass was 100% recorded,” Variety reported.
Sixx, 64, denied Mars’ accusations at the time and said the pre-recorded tracks were to cover up Mars’ guitar playing, Rolling Stone reported.
Following the allegations and in the arbitration, “Mars was forced to admit under oath that his statements were false. His expert confirmed that the band performed live, and Mars formally recanted his prior claims during sworn testimony,” the band’s legal team said on Thursday, Jan. 29.
PEOPLE reached out to Mötley Crüe’s representation and Mars’ attorney and representation for comment.
