Hawthorne Heights wins legal Victory

Hawthorne Heights has won at least a partial victory, so to speak, over Victory Records in its legal battle to get out of its contract with the label. According to Billboard, Chicago federal judge James Moran ruled on Monday (March 5th) that Victory does not hold exclusive rights to the band's recording services, essentially allowing the group to record wherever it wants. The judge wrote, "The agreement contains no exclusivity provision, nor does any of its language appear to prevent (the band) from recording elsewhere during the life of the agreement."

Hawthorne Heights sued Victory and its president, Tony Brummel, last summer, claiming that the label had damaged the group's reputation and relationship with its fans. The band also asked the court to declare that the band, and not Victory, owned the copyrights to its first two albums.

Brummel countersued, claiming that the band owed the label two more albums. He also launched a lawsuit against Virgin Records and its parent company, EMI Music, alleging that Virgin signed Hawthorne Heights to a new deal even though the band was still obligated to record for Victory.

Although the judge ruled that Hawthorne Heights was not bound to record exclusively for Victory, he did not rule on the copyright ownership or another charge of trademark infringement, saying additional evidence was needed.