Last week, two members of the now defunct 80’s glam rock band Kid Rocker filed a lawsuit against Poison. Plaintiffs Billy McCarthy and James Stonich are accusing Poison and its members of plagiarizing songs such as “Talk Dirty To Me,” “I Won’t Forget You,” “Fallen Angel” and “Ride the Wind.” While it may seem odd that the two are suing 25 years after the supposed theft occurred, Poison have made it clear that they are planning to fight back.
The band’s lawyer, Mark D. Passin, has reportedly given The Hollywood Reporter the following statement:
“Poison will vigorously defend against the baseless accusations alleged in the complaint. Obviously, if the Poison songs that are the subject of the complaint infringed any songs written by Plaintiffs McCarthy and Stonich they would have filed their lawsuit over 20 years ago when Poison released the albums on which the songs are embodied. It is unfortunate that success in the entertainment business often invites unmeritorious lawsuits.”
Passin points to the obvious in his statement: why didn’t the members of Kid Rocker wait 25 years to sue Poison? The one thing that is certain, though, is that McCarthy and Stonich shouldn’t expect a payout from Bret Michaels and co. anytime soon (at least not before going to court). Maybe Kid Rocker shouldn’t sue Kid Rock over his name after all.
