Overview
- Garry Peterson and Jim Kale, along with BiCoastal Productions, filed a federal complaint in Manhattan on Jan. 28 seeking several million dollars in compensatory damages plus punitive damages.
- The plaintiffs say BMI’s chief legal officer told them on April 6, 2024 that Burton Cummings’ BMI affiliation had been terminated effective immediately, prompting them to cancel that night’s show and the rest of their U.S. dates.
- They argue BMI misinterpreted the termination’s effective date and that a notice period likely kept permissions in force, meaning the concerts could have proceeded.
- As an alternative theory, the complaint asserts that if the termination was truly immediate, BMI’s blanket-license model is unreliable for touring acts, venues and promoters.
- Cummings withdrew his songs from BMI in 2024 to block the rival lineup, later settled the trademark with Randy Bachman and launched a reunion tour in Niagara Falls; BMI says the lawsuit has no merit and that it relied on information from SOCAN.