Mick Mars lawyer responds to Mötley Crüe: ‘Mick will maintain his dignity’

Mick Mars‘ lawyer has responded to Mötley Crüe declaring a “decisive victory” in their legal battle with the band’s former guitarist.

In a press release issued Wednesday, Mötley’s lawyer, Sasha Frid, of Miller Barondess, LLP, wrote that an arbitrator’s ruling “rejects every claim Mars made against the band and orders him to pay damages back to the group.”

“Mötley Crüe was fortunate to find an arbitrator who knows so little about the music industry and so little about the law,” says Mars lawyer, Ed McPherson. “He ruled that there was no difference between [vocalist] Vince [Neil] and [drummer] Tommy [Lee] quitting the band for a short time in the [’90s], and Mick spending his entire life in the band, and then, at age 72, having to stop touring because of a hideous crippling disease (Ankylosing Spondylitis).”

Mars first sued Mötley Crüe in 2023 over a financial dispute stemming from his retirement from touring in 2022. Mars, who was replaced by guitarist John 5, claimed that while he was no longer touring with Mötley due to health issues, he still remained a member of the band and deserved to be compensated as such.

Also in the suit, Mars accused the other Mötley members — Lee, Neil and bassist Nikki Sixx — of using prerecorded tracks during the band’s 2022 reunion tour, specifically claiming that Sixx “did not play a single note on bass” live.

According to the press release issued by Mötley’s lawyer, Mars “was forced to admit under oath that his statements were false” regarding the miming allegations.

“Mötley Crüe is correct that the recordings that they gave to the arbitrator had Nikki playing,” McPherson’s statement reads. “However, to this day, none of them has been able to explain the videos of Nikki’s bass sound blaring while his hands are nowhere near his bass, or the sound of Tommy’s drums playing before he steps up to them. I guess fans will have to make up their own minds as to whether the signature sound of Mötley Crüe is Nikki’s bass, Tommy’s drums, Vince’s voice, or Mick’s guitar.”

“Meanwhile, Mick will maintain his dignity, which he has done throughout this demoralizing process, focusing on his new music,” McPherson continues. “As always, the behavior of his former bandmates speaks for itself, as does the band’s press release on Wednesday.”