Ozzy Osbourne being sued by Bob Daisley, again
August 9, 2016 3:45 PM
Loudwire — Update: Ozzy Osbourne has released a statement concerning Bob Daisley’s legal action over supposed unpaid royalties. It reads as follows:
For the past 36 years Mr. Daisley has been receiving bi-annual royalty statements and checks from Blizzard Music, totaling in the millions of dollars, which have been routinely cashed. Mr. Daisley has audited Blizzard Music accounts over the years using several different auditing firms who found no discrepancies. He has previously filed lawsuits in the UK and the US and has lost on each occasion.
We understand that Mr. Daisley is now in retirement and that these funds are his main source of income, so it is his right to be diligent with his money, but after 36 years, this is tantamount to harassment. We would have hoped that after 36 years that Mr. Daisley would have lost his unhealthy personal obsession and resentment towards Mr. Osbourne’s success. Blizzard Music and Mr. Osbourne plan to vigorously defend these proceedings.
Bassist Bob Daisley played on several Ozzy Osbourne albums and has a songwriting credit on the classic track “Crazy Train” along with Osbourne and Randy Rhoads. According to NME, Daisley is suing for unpaid royalties on the song.
According to documents released after a court filing in Nevada on Aug. 8, Daisley has filed suit against Osbourne and his company Blizzard Music Limited, seeking $2 million in unpaid royalties.
Daisley’s attorney Alan Howard tells NME, “While Mr. Osbourne was benefiting from the songs co-authored by our client, the audit shows that he was systematically short-changing Mr. Daisley. Mr. Daisley had no choice but to bring this action to secure his fair share of the proceeds those songs have generated.”
The complaint alleges that “although royalties have been paid to Daisley over the years, an audit conducted in 2014 showed that Osbourne and his company had been improperly deducting undisclosed fees before distributing royalties to Daisley and improperly withholding Daisley’s rightful share of royalties owed under the publishing agreements for the commercial exploitations of the songs.”
It’s not the first legal battle between Daisley and Osbourne. Daisley also sued in 2002 over performance royalties.
Article above courtesy of Chad Bowar and Loudwire
