Chris Cornell's Widow Settles Legal Disputes With Soundgarden

By Stephen Andrew

Chris Cornell's widow, Vicky Cornell, has officially settled her legal dispute with his Soundgarden bandmates. Pitchfork reports that all parties came to an agreement on the court case that Vicky had brought against the remaining members of the band. Notably, this settlement will finally allow Soundgarden to release material they had been working on with Cornell prior to his death.

"Soundgarden and Vicky Cornell, on behalf of the Estate of Chris Cornell, are happy to announce they have reached an amicable out of court resolution," read a joint statement from Vicky and Soundgarden. "The reconciliation marks a new partnership between the two parties, which will allow Soundgarden fans around the world to hear the final songs that the band and Chris were working on. The two parties are united and coming together to propel, honor and build upon Soundgarden's incredible legacy as well as Chris's indelible mark on music history as one of the greatest songwriters and vocalists of all time."

Cornell tragically passed away in 2017, at the age of 52. His death was later ruled a suicide by the coroner's office. Two years later, in 2019, Vicky filed a lawsuit against the band. The main basis of her dispute was over unpaid royalties. The band fired back by saying that she made an error when she filed her suit in Florida, as the band is based out of Seattle, Washington. She responded by saying that she filed correctly because Cornell wrote the songs in Florida.

In 2020, Vicky slammed Soundgarden, claiming that none of the members ever reached out to her after Cornell's death. According to court documents, Vicky stated that she didn't get so much as a text from them, following Cornell's passing. She also alleged that the band charged her private flight to Cornell's memorial as a tour expense, rather than paying for it out of their own pockets. Vicky also claimed that her husband didn't sign a written partnership agreement with the rest of the band members, because he "was tired of others unfairly capitalizing on his creative talents, or in his words, 'the stupid communist bulls—.'"

Notably, Vicky also took issue with the coroner's determination on Cornell's death investigation, as she claimed to never have noticed him exhibiting any suicidal tendencies. Vicky previously stated that she believes Atavan – medication he'd been taking – might have caused a negative side-effect that ultimately led to his death. "My Chris was happy, loving, caring and warm," she said in a previous interview with PEOPLE. "This was not a depressed man – it wasn't like I missed that. What I missed were the signs of addiction." Vicky believes that if her husband had not relapsed on drugs that night, he would not have died.

"He didn't want to die," she added. "If he was of sound mind, I know he wouldn't have done this... Addiction is a disease. That disease can take over you and has full power."

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