Judge Shoots Down Nuge

Ted Nugent has suffered a setback in his lawsuit against a Michigan music festival. The judge in the case ruled he can’t claim damages for future lost income as a result of the Muskegon Summer Celebration canceling his June 2003 performance.

The Nuge said the cancellation, and a subsequent news release announcing it, damaged his reputation and cost him future lost income he estimated at more than $1 million.

Muskegon County Circuit Judge Timothy Hicks made the ruling March 24th, the third day of a trial expected to last about a week.

Nugent’s legal team was not pleased.

“We strongly disagree with it,” attorney Cindy Rhodes Victor said.

If Nugent wins his suit, the most he would be eligible to receive is $80,000 plus an estimate of lost merchandise income.

Nugent, a Detroit native who now lives in Crawford, Texas, sued the fest in August 2003. He claims his reputation and career were damaged by the cancellation and subsequent news release from the festival that accused him of making racist remarks.

The news release came out after Nugent allegedly slurred African-Americans and Asians during a live interview on a Denver radio station. He denied making such remarks.

Summer Celebration attorneys defended the cancellation, saying there was no signed contract when the show got the ax.

Nugent business attorney Mike Novak, testifying as an expert witness, told the court, “Oral contracts … are the industry norm. That’s how deals are done,” according to the Muskegon Chronicle.

Novak added that the start of ticket sales marks “the point of no return.”

“A contract is a contract,” Novak reportedly testified. “It’s a huge misconception (to think a signed paper is needed). There may not have been a signed paper, but there was a contract.”

The trial was to resume March 29th in Muskegon County Circuit Court.