Big Drum Thump

Bill Zildjian, son of Sabian founder Robert Zildjian, filed a lawsuit against his family and the cymbal company back in April, claiming that as a shareholder he was owed dividends. At the time, there was some talk that Sabian would be required to “wind up, dissolve and liquidate the company and assets as a whole” if necessary to pay up. That thankfully hasn’t come to pass, but a judge did recently rule against Sabian and award Bill $517,575 for dividends owed plus another $2,500 for court costs. No word yet on whether Sabian will appeal the judgment…or if Bill was invited over for Christmas dinner.

Update: Bill Zildjian was also awarded five percent interest on the outstanding dividend payments, which amounts to another $200,000. Sabian is definitely appealing the ruling. The lawsuit will likely drag deep into next year and get much uglier because Bill is alleging that “his father Robert misuses company funds for personal expenses and that his brother Andy actively undermines his position and influence on the business. He also claims his father has ignored established business regulations and protocols so as to maintain complete control of Sabian Ltd.”

Dave Buckner was booted from Papa Roach almost a year ago, but the drummer apparently remained a partner in various companies the band had formed. Now Buckner is looking for his cut of the profits and is asking that Papa be busted up so that he can get them. The suit was filed November 28. TMZ, as usual, has all the goods, including copies of the court documents.

Everyone knows that the pedals on gaming drum kits suck severe ass in terms of playability, but one dude has filed a class action lawsuit claiming that the Rock Band stompers are shoddily made and “deprive [customers] of the value and enjoyment of their purchases.” Harmonix and MTV, the producers of the game, have released the following statement in response to the suit:

Harmonix and MTV Games are dedicated to consumers having an outstanding experience with our products. When used as directed, our drum pedals are designed to provide years of enjoyment. In addition, at the launch of Rock Band we offered consumers an extended opportunity return defective or broken hardware for any reason whatsoever—no questions asked. This litigation is opportunistic and baseless.

While our experience with Rock Band has been generally positive, we definitely think the pedal is on the worrisome side of fragile. Have you had any problems? Let us know in the comments.

According to E!, Barker’s attorneys have filed a negligence lawsuit against both the owner and the manufacturer of the Learjet that crashed on September 19. The court documents claim that “one or more of the tires failed, leaving tire debris and portions of airplane components along the 8,600 foot runway.” The pilot is accused of making a “negligent attempt to abort the takeoff,” and a number of the plane’s parts and components are alleged to have been “not airworthy.”

We’ll keep you updated—Perry Mason like—as details unfold.

But not in a full-on porn kind of way. Turns out that Lindiwe Noko, the chick accused of stealing $55,000 from him, is claiming that she and the Cream drummer were an item and that the cash was a gift. Baker says he’ll bare all in court to prove the two were never intimate:

I’ve a scar that only a woman who had a thing with me would know. It’s there and she doesn’t know it’s there….I’m quite prepared to strip. It may well come down to it.

Sounds like case closed, then. Unless Noko managed to chat up one of his previous paramours. We’ll keep eyes peeled for pics.

…to the tune of $202,670. That’s the amount the four other members of Alabama say drummer Mark Herndon was overpaid for merch sales in 2003. The suit is apparently a response to Herndon’s own demand for cash. He feels he’s owed $65,047 from an advance the group was paid against sales of the live CD The Last Stand.

BDT’s ill-informed and unrequested advice: play nice, fellas. The lawyers are going to eat up all the cash involved, and at the end of the litigious day, you’ll still just be pissed off and broke.