More Details Surface on Third Eye Blind Lawsuit

A week after news broke that ousted Third Eye Blind guitarist Kevin Cadogan has accused singer Stephen Jenkins of backstabbing him from the get-go, allstar has gotten its hands on the lawsuit papers to see what's really going on. In a breach of contract lawsuit filed in United States District Court for the Northern District of California on June 15, Cadogan is suing his former band members, management, attorneys, and record label. Cadogan was unexpectedly kicked out of the band in January.

The suit claims that Cadogan and Jenkins entered into an agreement in 1993 stating that both members owned a 50 percent share of any musical compositions they wrote together and later the same deal for any business entities that would carry on Third Eye Blind activities. As the band developed a following in San Francisco and began garnering the attention of record labels, Cadogan claims Jenkins and manager Eric Godtland began scheming against him as early as 1996.

The suit claims, in part, [Cadogan] had undergone surgery just before the [Elektra Records] contract was to be signed and was unable to fly to New York for the signing. Godtland presented only a signature page for [Cadogan] to sign, claiming that he was signing the Elektra contract while in fact it was an inducement letter promising that the '3EB artists' (Jenkins and Cadogan) would fulfill the contract signed between Elektra and 3EB, Inc."

The suit goes on to claim that sometime in mid-1996 "without the knowledge or consent of [Cadogan] and contrary to the express agreement between [Cadogan] and Jenkins, 100 percent of the shares of 3EB, Inc. were issued to Jenkins."

The suit also accuses Jenkins of using band money for personal use and obligations, acting solely for his own benefit, and purposely and knowingly leading Cadogan to believe he was still a 50 percent share owner in 3EB when in fact he wasn't. "Moreover, on numerous occasions between May 1996 and January 2000, Jenkins and Godtland, independent of each other, also informed [Cadogan] and [Cadogan]'s agents that no shares in 3EB, Inc., had been issued, no corporate resolutions of any kind had occurred, and [Cadogan] was to be a fifty-percent owner of 3EB, Inc."

Cadogan also claims that just days before his firing, 3EB received a $1 million advance from Elektra Records to write and record an eight-song EP, $350,000 of which was deposited directly into Jenkins' private account without Cadogan's notice or approval.

Cadogan is suing for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contracts, Lanham Act violations, negligence, declaratory relief, accounting and constructive trust, dissolution of defendant company, and the appointment of a receiver over defendant company.

~ - Kevin Raub