iStock/Marilyn NievesThe Offspring and the band’s former bassist Greg Kriesel are involved in a legal battle over a financial dispute.
According to documents obtained by Forbes, Kriesel — an original Offspring member who’d been in the band since 1984 — was told on November 1, 2018 that he was no longer a part of the group. He’s now suing frontman Dexter Holland and guitarist Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman for breach of fiduciary duties, and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
In a cross-complaint, Holland and Wasserman maintain that they’ve committed no wrongdoing, and that Kriesel’s arguments — which are in part based on an alleged oral partnership agreement he entered into with The Offspring in 1986 — have “no basis in fact.”
Holland and Wasserman also say that they “attempted to negotiate in good faith” with Kriesel over buying out his Offspring, Inc. shares and other divisions of assets and royalties, but the bassist ended negotiations and sued them instead.
Meanwhile, The Offspring has been working on a new album, presumably without Kriesel. As of July, the group was “putting the finishing touches” on the record, the follow-up to 2012’s Days Go By.
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