Eagles Sued By Don Felder Over Dismissal

(2/12/01, 4 p.m. ET) - There are apparently no peaceful, easy feelings between Eagles guitarist Don Felder and the band's leaders. Felder--who joined the Eagles in January 1974--has filed suit in California Superior Court, claiming wrongful termination by the group's Don Henley and Glenn Frey.

The suit accuses the duo, who wrote most of the Eagles' material, of abusing their authority and acting unfairly in firing Felder. It also demands a full accounting of all transactions--including royalties, tour receipts, and merchandise revenue--made by Eagles Ltd. while Felder was in the band, and asks that the company be liquidated. The suit states, "Despite each being a one-third owner of Eagles Ltd., Henley and Frey have consistently treated Felder as a subordinate, with complete disregard for his rights." Neither singer-guitarist Joe Walsh nor singer-bassist Timothy B. Schmit are named in the filing.

Representatives for the attorneys in the case told LAUNCH there would be further comments on Tuesday (February 13). Daniel Petrocelli, who represents Henley and Frey, was quoted as saying, "We took this action because it was in the best interest of the Eagles." He also said, "The band is going forward. This was done in the best interest of the band."

Petrocelli added that his clients--who formed the Eagles in 1971 after working in Linda Ronstadt's backing band--had full rights to dismiss Felder, and that the guitarist's suit is without merit. No one, however, is saying why Felder was fired.

Friction between members of the Eagles is nothing new. During a December 1999 press conference, Frey said that not only has he grown accustomed to it, he thinks it's sometimes for the best and that no one should take it personally: "We've attempted more than once or twice to, you know, try to put this thing back together and get it up and flying, so to speak, and there have been times when it hasn't been right. And we've learned to just sort of flow with that and say, 'You know what, never say 'never.'' You know, things always happen for a reason and it could be even better down the line," Frey said.

Less than four months later, however, Henley may have foreshadowed the current situation when he told LAUNCH that he scuttled recording sessions for a new Eagles studio album because he was unhappy with the direction things were headed. "Frankly, we weren't all on the same page as far as production values and songwriting values and things like that," Henley explained. "And before it can continue, I think we're going to have to come to some kind of understanding about production and about songwriting because, as I see it, we're not on the same page at this point, and I can't really say much more than that about it without blowing the whole thing to bits."

-- Gary Graff, Detroit and Bruce Simon, New York