Lawsuit: Creed Singer Too Stoned To Rock
Creed Fans File Suit For Disappointing Hard Rock Concert
POSTED: 3:17 p.m. EDT April 22, 2003
UPDATED: 3:42 p.m. EDT April 22, 2003
CHICAGO -- Four fans of the rock group Creed filed a suit Monday demanding their money back for a Dec. 29 concert at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont at which, they claim, the band's singer was too drug-addled to remember his own songs.
The four plaintiffs, Philip Berenz and his wife, Linda Berenz, of Chicago, and Chad Costino and Wendy Costino of Lowell, Ind., were seeking class-action status on behalf of everyone who attended that performance of the Florida-based heavy metal band.
In their suit, filed in the chancery division of Cook County circuit court, the plaintiffs alleged lead singer Scott Stapp (pictured) "was so intoxicated and/or medicated that he was unable to sing the lyrics of a single Creed song."
"Instead," they said, "during the Creed concert, Stapp left the stage on several occasions during several songs for long periods of time, rolled around on the floor of the stage in apparent pain or distress, and appeared to pass out on stage during the performance," the suit reads.
The Berenzs and Costinos said they spent a combined $227 for concert tickets, service fees, and related expenses including parking, and were entitled to hear all facets of the band's songs, including the vocals. Stapp's inability to perform was "tantamount to a cancellation," in the words of the suit.
The suit spreads the blame to Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti and drummer Scott Phillips, along with Jeff Hanson Management and Promotions Inc.
"Stapp's drug and/or alcohol dependency or condition was well-known to the other two members of the Creed Band, and was well-known to JHMP, as well," the suit states.
But Stapp's band mates and management, rather than issue refunds, just brought in extra security, the suit alleges.
According to the suit and news reports, the band's management issued an apology to Chicago area fans for the quality of the performance. The apology, they said, read, in part: "We apologize if you don't feel that the show was up to the very high standards set by our previous shows in Chicago ... We hope that you can take some solace in the fact that you definitely experienced the most unique of all Creed shows and may have become part of the unusual world of rock and roll history!"
The class-action request estimates the potential damages that could be awarded to the approximately 15,000 concertgoers at around $2 million.
Creed Music Inc. and JHMP are registered as corporations in Orlando, Fla., but SBC directory assistance could not locate telephone numbers for them.
Daniel J. Voelker, the Chicago attorney who filed the suit, was not in his office late Monday afternoon, according to a recorded message.
No court dates had been set.
The four plaintiffs, Philip Berenz and his wife, Linda Berenz, of Chicago, and Chad Costino and Wendy Costino of Lowell, Ind., were seeking class-action status on behalf of everyone who attended that performance of the Florida-based heavy metal band.
In their suit, filed in the chancery division of Cook County circuit court, the plaintiffs alleged lead singer Scott Stapp (pictured) "was so intoxicated and/or medicated that he was unable to sing the lyrics of a single Creed song."
"Instead," they said, "during the Creed concert, Stapp left the stage on several occasions during several songs for long periods of time, rolled around on the floor of the stage in apparent pain or distress, and appeared to pass out on stage during the performance," the suit reads.
The Berenzs and Costinos said they spent a combined $227 for concert tickets, service fees, and related expenses including parking, and were entitled to hear all facets of the band's songs, including the vocals. Stapp's inability to perform was "tantamount to a cancellation," in the words of the suit.
The suit spreads the blame to Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti and drummer Scott Phillips, along with Jeff Hanson Management and Promotions Inc.
"Stapp's drug and/or alcohol dependency or condition was well-known to the other two members of the Creed Band, and was well-known to JHMP, as well," the suit states.
But Stapp's band mates and management, rather than issue refunds, just brought in extra security, the suit alleges.
According to the suit and news reports, the band's management issued an apology to Chicago area fans for the quality of the performance. The apology, they said, read, in part: "We apologize if you don't feel that the show was up to the very high standards set by our previous shows in Chicago ... We hope that you can take some solace in the fact that you definitely experienced the most unique of all Creed shows and may have become part of the unusual world of rock and roll history!"
The class-action request estimates the potential damages that could be awarded to the approximately 15,000 concertgoers at around $2 million.
Creed Music Inc. and JHMP are registered as corporations in Orlando, Fla., but SBC directory assistance could not locate telephone numbers for them.
Daniel J. Voelker, the Chicago attorney who filed the suit, was not in his office late Monday afternoon, according to a recorded message.
No court dates had been set.
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