The Vandals have gained a preliminary in their defense against Variety Magazine. The LA Times is reporting that the band secured the right to contest the case in a California federal court, since Vandals bassist and lawyer Joe Escalante, who is representing the band in the lawsuit, is based in Los Angeles. The magazine had been trying to have the case tried in Delaware.
The band themselves said this:
"The Plaintiffs should all be ashamed and it is the Vandals' opinion that (Variety's lawyers) are liable for malpractice damages by ruining their client's reputation in a frivolous attempt to act like Godzilla when it comes to hoarding their precious font and inhibiting protected free speech."
Last year, the entertainment magazine once again sued The Vandals for their 2004 parody version of the logo from "Hollywood Potato Chip". The band settled the issue initially in late 2004, but the issue has come up again due to the parody mark appearing on other sites. It should be noted that a recent NYU law school interpretation of the case disputes the notion that this is a first amendment issue since the issue was already settled in 2004 and now remains strictly a contractual dispute.
The ongoing legal battle has also been blamed for the dearth of new material from the band.
Thanks for the report to Punknews.org.
