Lindsey Buckingham filed a lawsuit this week against Fleetwood Mac over his dismissal from the band.
The suit, filed Tuesday in a Los Angeles court, alleges breach of fiduciary duty and oral contract and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.
Buckingham claims he was canned after he requested a three-month delay in the band’s tour plans so that he could complete a solo tour, or to at least allow him to book solo shows on the nights Fleetwood Mac was not performing.
Fleetwood Mac announced in January that Buckingham was no longer part of the line-up. "The band wishes Lindsey all the best," read a statement at the time.
Buckingham's lawsuit alleges that “by excluding Buckingham from participating in the 2018-2019 Fleetwood Mac tour in breach of their fiduciary duties of loyalty and good faith and fair dealing, the Defendants intentionally acted to interfere with Buckingham’s … prospective economic benefit he was to receive as a result of his participation in the tour."
Buckingham claims the band’s deal with tour promoter Live Nation earns each member $12 million to $14 million (all figures U.S.). Fleetwood Mac performs Nov. 3 in Ottawa, Nov. 5 in Toronto, Nov. 10 in Edmonton, Nov. 12 in Calgary and Nov. 14 in Vancouver. (Buckingham's tour has only one Canadian show – Nov. 16 in Kitchener, Ont.)
The lawsuit includes a copy of an email Buckingham sent to Mick Fleetwood on Feb. 28, in which he admitted “all of this breaks my heart.”
Buckingham wrote: “After 43 years and the finish line so clearly in sight, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that for the five of us to splinter apart now would be the wrong thing. At the moment, the band’s heart and soul has been diminished. But our center, which had seen us through so much, is only laying dormant.”
The singer-guitarist, who joined Fleetwood Mac in 1974, wrote or co-wrote hits like “Go Your Own Way,” “Second Hand News,” “Tusk” and “The Chain.” Buckingham took a decade-long hiatus from the group in 1987.
Buckingham's lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, states that "was and remains ready, willing and able to perform his duties and obligations."