The Aerosmith Lawsuit: Settlement Gives Hawaiians Concerts

[WSJ_law_blog]

Even if we were a huge Aerosmith fan (we’re not) and lived in Hawaii (we don’t) and got a free ticket (we haven’t), we’re not sure we’d run out and see the band play either of two shows scheduled there for next month.

Why not? Well, for one thing, frontman Steven Tyler might not be in the best shape of his career, to put in mildly. Due to an unspecified illness suffered by Tyler, the band had to cancel three shows earlier this summer. But more importantly, for our purposes, the band will be playing the show as part of a lawsuit settlement. If that wouldn’t inspire a bunch of aging rockers to go out and put on their best show, uh, we don’t know what would (sarcasm intended).

The backstory: According to press reports, in Sept. 2007, the band canceled a concert in Maui in order to play a larger concert in Chicago and a more lucrative event for Toyota in Oahu. This, perhaps not surprisingly, didn’t sit all that well with ticket-holding fans, who sued, in a class action. The suit claims the cancellation cost ticket buyers between $500,000 and $3 million in travel costs, handling fees and other expenses. Click here for the story, from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

But as part of the settlement, each of the 8000 plaintiffs who sent in claim forms will soon be receiving their tickets. The attorney for the plaintiffs, Brandee Faria, also said administrators will in the next few weeks also be sending out reimbursements for out-of-pocket expenses originally spent to attend the original 2007 Maui show, such as flight, hotel and car rental costs.

And is there anything to stop Tyler, guitarist Joe Perry and the boys from walking on stage, playing half-hearted versions of Sweet Emotion, Love in an Elevator, and Cryin’, then bailing?

Why yes! There is! According to TMZ, there’s a clause in the settlement agreement, which stipulates that the gigs have to be the same “quality, type and duration” as a regular Aerosmith concert — which includes all aspects of the show, down to the “stage, lighting and sound quality.”

And how to measure whether the show’s as good as regular concerts? We have absolutely no idea.