Hawthorne Heights And Victory Records Continue Legal Battle

Emo/punk band Hawthorne Heights are a bit higher this week after a Chicago judge ruled that Victory Records doesn't have their exclusive rights and that they're free to record for any label.

Hawthorne Heights filed a lawsuit against Victory last August, citing fraudulent accounting practices among their accusations. At the same time, the group announced that they were leaving Victory because they didn't like the way that label head Tony Brummel did business. Victory maintained that the Dayton, Ohio quintet still owed it two more studio albums, according to their agreement, and filed a countersuit for breach of contract and libel. Victory also sued Virgin Records and EMI Music North America, which it claimed wrongfully interfered with its contractual relationship with the band.

Victory claimed victory in October when a judge dismissed two of the claims in Hawthorne Heights' suit, including one that said the label was violating trademark and copyright by continuing to sell the group's records. But the band vowed to keep fighting. With the latest legal ruling this week, it seems to be paying off.

"The agreement contains no exclusivity provision, nor does any of its language appear to prevent [the band] from recording elsewhere during the life of the agreement," judge James Moran wrote.

The court dismissed Hawthorne Heights' fraud claim, but hasn't yet thrown out or ruled on claims about copyright ownership, trademark infringement and invasion of privacy.