Judge Rejects Too-Stoned-To-Play Suit Against CREED

September 18, 2003

Fans who felt cheated by CREED's Chicago show are getting no sympathy from a judge, according to the Associated Press.

A judge in Chicago has dismissed a $2 million lawsuit filed by four fans against CREED. The suit accused singer Scott Stapp of appearing too intoxicated to perform well in Chicago last December (see previous coverage: story#1, story#2, story#3, story#4).

Stapp denied the allegation, but the judge dismissed the complaint "with prejudice," which means the fans can amend their complaint.

"We're very pleased with the decision," said band attorney Rob McNeely. "It was the right one."

So is this the end of this messy affair, which has been followed by everyone from USA Today to Celebrity Justice?

"Oh, no," Daniel Voelker, the attorney for the fans who filed the class-action lawsuit told the Orlando Sentinel.

"By no means," said Philip Berenz, one of the fans.

Both said Monday that they would take advantage of the judge's offer to amend their complaint.

They will now argue that CREED fans had a right to expect more from Stapp and his band than from other groups — because CREED tout their family-friendly Christian image and high-caliber performances.

"People may not have always expected a perfect show from Janis Joplin or Jimi Hendrix," Voelker said. "But I don't think the general population expected that out of Scott Stapp."

McNeely said the fans can file any lawsuit they want but warned that "250 years of American history" suggests they don't have a legal leg to stand on.

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