Journey Settle Lawsuit with Former Members Steve Smith and Ross Valory

Journey’s Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain have announced the resolution of their year-long legal dispute with two former members, bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith.

On March 3, 2020, Schon and Cain filed a lawsuit against former members Smith and Valory over an alleged “coup” to gain control of the Journey trademark. The suit, which sought over $10 million in damages, claimed that Smith and Valory held a fraudulent shareholder meeting that effectively ousted Schon and Cain from their leadership positions at Nightmare Productions Inc., which they “incorrectly” assumed to own the “Journey” trademark. The complaint accuses Smith and Valory of assuming control of Nightmare Productions Inc. to “hold the Journey name hostage and set themselves up with a guaranteed income stream after they stop performing.”

A cross-complaint filed by Valory and Smith, which was supported by former manager Herbie Herbert and former lead singer Steve Perry, refuted these claims and called the conflict a “deceptive, misleading and false premise.” The suit also claimed that the board was attempting to protect the band’s trademark from Schon’s offshoot group Journey Through Time.

Thursday, Journey shared the following statement:

The members of the band Journey who were parties to a recent lawsuit (Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Steve Smith and Ross Valory) are pleased to announce that they have resolved their differences and reached an amicable settlement agreement. Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain acknowledge the valuable contributions that both Ross Valory and Steve Smith have made to the music and the legacy of Journey. Ross Valory and Steve Smith wish their former bandmates well and much success in the future. Journey looks forward to continuing to tour and make new music for their dedicated fans around the world.

Schon announced Smith and Valory’s replacements in May of 2020, introducing the return of Randy Jackson as bassist, Narada Michael Warren as drummer, and Jason Derlatka as keyboardist and backing vocalist. According to Schon, the updated lineup will take the stage as headliners for Lollapalooza 2021.

Watch a 1991 Journey performance from the Paste archives below.