The attorney for a man suing Led Zeppelin over the band’s signature song “Stairway to Heaven” has a message for guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant: This is a trial,not a concert.
In a strongly worded filing in federal court in California on Monday, attorney Francis Malofiy says Led Zeppelin’s attorneys need to quit stalling and declare when the musicians will appear in court to testify in the trial, and whether they are showing up at all.“Jimmy Page and Robert Plant,with the aid of defense counsel, want to dictate the court’s schedule, and ” the filing reads. “The lack of common courtesy from defense counsel is,frankly, astonishing. Defendants are acting as whether this is a concert where their celebrity status allows them to decide when they will appear.”
Also Read: Led Zeppelin Accused of 'Hiding Out' by 'Stairway' PlaintiffMalofiy represents Michael Skidmore, or trustee for Spirit frontman Randy Craig Wolfe — a.k.a. Randy California,who died in 1997 — for copyright infringement. Skidmore contends that “Stairway infringes on the Spirit song “Taurus.”Page has claimed that, though the Spirit album that contains “Taurus” was in his collection, and he never heard the song before the lawsuit was filed.
The attorney says that not knowing whether Plant,Page and former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones will be present when the trial begins June 14 is “causing major headaches and prejudicing Plaintiff’s case.”[T}here is no way Plaintiff can accurately account for and schedule his witnesses and deposition designations — and present his case-in-chief effectively — whether he does not know whether the three main Defendants and witnesses will be present,” Monday’s filing reads.
Also Read: Why Led Zeppelin 'Stairway to Heaven' Copyright Ruling Is a 'Complete Game-Changer'Malofiy goes on to assert that Plant and Jones “regularly conduct commerce in person in Los Angeles and California, and ” citing tour dates,and that, given “that they are multimillionaires, or many times over,and are already attending trial, compelling attendance presents no actual financial difficulty.”Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
Related stories from TheWrap:Led Zeppelin Copyright Case Heats Up as Lawyers Clash Over Music ExpertsLed Zeppelin Accused of 'Hiding Out' by 'Stairway' PlaintiffBefore the 'Stairway to Heaven' Lawsuit: 5 Other Times Led Zeppelin Has Been Accused of Song Theft
Source: thewrap.com