Axl Rose Suffers Partial Defeat in ‘Guitar Hero’ Lawsuit
Axl Rose‘s ongoing quest to wrest a $20 million judgment from video game makers Activision was dealt a setback yesterday (August 14), when a judge indicated Rose’s allegations of fraud would be dismissed — but he allowed another claim in the suit to stand, leaving the legal battle open for another round.
Rose’s lawsuit stems from his dismay after licensing the Guns N’ Roses track ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ for use in Activision’s ‘Guitar Hero III’ and then discovering that, against his explicit instructions, the ‘Jungle’ portion of the game features exiled former GNR guitarist Slash, who also appears on the cover artwork.
A major hangup in the case was Rose’s failure to file suit until 2010, three years after ‘Guitar Hero III’ debuted — a curious delay for the lawsuit-friendly singer, but one Rose explained by saying Activision attempted to placate him by promising “a Guns N’ Roses dedicated video game, a game dedicated to music from the ‘Chinese Democracy’ album, and other proposals.”
That wasn’t enough for the judge, who the Hollywood Reporter says “appears ready to strike the fraud claim because the statute of limitations had expired.” But it wasn’t all bad for Rose; he’s also arguing breach of contract, which will now be argued in a separate hearing scheduled for February of next year. Rose’s attorney, Skip Miller, promised things would get “very interesting” and threatened that “damages and harm will be the same with a lower burden of proof” the next time the two sides meet.