Victory has fired another salvo in the ongoing battle with
Hawthorne Heights. The situation began
in August of 2006 when Hawthorne Heights filed suit against Victory, which was followed by a
countersuit against the band in September. In November, Victory went on to sue
the band's new label EMI/Virgin. The focus of this complaint is Carbon Copy Media, the label
launched by Hawthorne Heights frontman JT Woodruff just one year ago. The label was originally formed with the intent of maintaining a close partnership with Victory and went on to release records from a few bands including
Signal Home. The suit alledges that Carbon Copy Media "is" JT Woodruff and furthermore, that while the Victory-Carbon Copy and Victory-Hawthorne Heights relationships were separate, the two have become intermingled due to the lawsuits. The suit adds some critical points including Victory's original assessment of the label:
Although Victory was interested in helping Woodruff [and partner Mark Daily] it had no interest in investing in a vanity project by a couple of dilettantes.
As well as some concerns with the way things have been handled:
By ceasing communication with Victory, Woodruff and Daily effectively abandoned the Ellison and Signal Home releases. This killed any possibility that the releases would be commercially successful. Because these releases were the debuts for these young bands, the Defendants' actions have likely destroyed their careers. [...] On the eve of [Asteria] going into the studio to record their debut Carbon Copy album, the Defendants refused to advance the costs for the studio time leaving [the band] in an impossible position.
The label is asking for compensatory damages of at least $200,000 plus court costs.
More... 
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Another salvo in the Victory v.Hawthorne Heights legal saga
Hawthorne Heights to Release New Studio Album on Victory Records