An appeals court has ordered Supertramp's former lead singer, Roger Hodgson, to split songwriting royalties with his bandmates.
The decision caps off a years-long legal battle between Hodgson and Supertramp bassist Dougie Thomson, saxophonist John Helliwell and drummer Bob Siebenberg.
The dispute stems from Hodgson's 2018 decision to stop sharing Supertramp's publishing royalties with his bandmates.
The band's catalogue includes their chart-topping 1979 album Breakfast in America, and the LPs Crime of the Century, Crisis? What Crisis?, Even in the Quietest Moments, Paris and Famous Last Words.
Hodgson won the case at trial in 2024, when a Los Angeles jury held that it was reasonable for him to terminate Supertramp's 1977 revenue-splitting agreement after more than 40 years.
But the new ruling wipes that verdict, holding that the case should never have gone to a jury at all.
Thomson, Helliwell and Siebenberg will now once again start receiving songwriting royalties from Hodgson - a decision praised by their lawyers.
"We are extremely gratified that, by reversing the trial court's clear error below, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has preserved our clients' legacy for themselves and their heirs while restating common sense California law that will continue to govern similar matters going forward," the legal team shared with Billboard.
