Vicky Cornell and the members of Soundgarden have resolved their protracted legal dispute. The two parties have come to “an amicable out of court resolution,” according to a joint statement posted on both the Soundgarden and Chris Cornell social media sites. This is significant because it now makes it possible for fans to hear Cornell’s final recordings that he was working on with the band.
Vicky Cornell’s and the group’s statement is as follows:
Soundgarden and Vicky Cornell, on behalf of the Estate of Chris Cornell, are happy to announce they have reached an amicable out of court resolution. The reconciliation marks a new partnership between the two parties, which will allow Soundgarden fans around the world to hear the final songs that the band and Chris were working on. The two parties are united and coming together to propel, honor and build upon Soundgarden's incredible legacy as well as Chris's indelible mark on music history - as one of the greatest songwriters and vocalists of all time.
Vicky Cornell filed a lawsuit against the remaining Soundgarden members in 2019 to claim ownership of seven unreleased recordings. The band was allegedly “withholding hundreds of thousand dollars in royalties” according to the lawsuit.
In 2020, Soundgarden responded to her claims, denying that they had withheld any funds from the widow and her family and asserting that the material they had been working on was for the band and not a Cornell solo effort. Later that spring, the band counterclaimed against Cornell, alleging that she had misappropriated the proceeds from the Chris Cornell charity show. Later, their lawsuit’s allegations against Vicky Cornell were abandoned.
Vicky Cornell sued the band once more in February 2021 over an agreement made about the purchase price. March 2021 will see a Washington State federal judge ruled that the band had not been withholding royalties from Cornell.
There was also a period during this back and forth of litigation in which the band were locked out of their social media accounts, leading them to ask a judge to reinstate their access. In June of 2021, that access was granted back to the band in a temporary agreement, while marking the first productive step toward an opening dialogue between the two parties..
At that point, both Soundgarden and Vicky Cornell had expressed their desire for Chris Cornell’s final recordings to be posthumously released. And in the year since that positive stride, it appears as though the two sides have now come to an agreement moving forward that will allow the final recordings to finally be heard.
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