Why Don't We have lost their years-long legal battle with their former management team, Signature Entertainment.
Last night (February 27), a jury ruled that four of the boy band's members — Jack Avery, Corbyn Besson, Zach Herron, and Jonah Marais —must each make a "symbolic" $1 payment to their ex-managers over breach of contract. From here on in, they will no longer be able to use the name Why Don't We.
Fifth member, Daniel Seavey, had previously been removed from the contract after filing for bankruptcy a few years ago, however, he did serve as a witness during the trial last week.
Rolling Stone reports that the four members of Why Don't We named in the lawsuit also lost a claim of defamation against their former manager David Loeffler, who they accused of “mental, emotional, and financial abuse” dating back to 2021. The court ordered the group to pay $400,000 to Signature, who in turn, were also ordered to pay a $400,000 fine for breach of fiduciary duty in the case. As a result, both fines cancelled each other out.
In addition, the jury found that Daniel Seavey's manager, Randy Phillips, co-founder and owner of 30 percent of Signature, interfered with business relationships and must now $3 million to his former business partners. However, he is expected to appeal the verdict.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Phillips said, “The band is going to be fine. They’re not getting back the rights to their name, but they’re going to be fine financially. I took a bullet for the guys, and I don’t regret it. Young artists should be very cautious when they sign contracts in the future.”
“I always knew this type of judgment was possible in front of an Orlando jury that does not fully understand how aggressive an artist manager must be to advocate for his clients,” he added. “These WDW artists are my close friends after 8 years together and now they are completely free, so I have no regrets and would do it again!”
Members of the group posted a message to their fans on socials, signed as “Formerly known as Why Don’t We.” In it they wrote, “Finally, this lawsuit nightmare is over, and we’re excited to put this behind us and continue our solo careers. With love, Corbyn, Jonah, Daniel, Zach, and Jack."
Why Don't We's legal battle was first announced in 2022, when the group were forced to cancel their tour and go on hiatus. Prior to that they had posted on socials, accusing Loeffler of “verbal abuse,” “malnourishment” and “extreme dominance” that “not only inflicted physical and mental, but also extreme financial harm to us.”
“He would not only live with us during the day, but controlled us 24/7, setting an alarm that would go off if any door or window was opened,” the statement continued. “Food was restricted to the point that some band members developed eating disorders… We were verbally berated almost every day and alienated from our friends and families. We had no support system except for each other and were made to believe that this was ‘normal’, that every artist had to pay their dues.”