U2 herald 'principled' victory in Stetson court case
U2 said today they had taken their former stylist to court out of principle rather than because of the value of the goods she had taken.
The band sued Lola Cashman to recover Bono’s iconic Stetson, a pair of metal hooped earrings, a green sweatshirt and a pair of black trousers, which she took without permission during the band’s Joshua Tree tour in 1987.
In a statement, U2 said they were relieved the dispute had ended.
“This case was brought very reluctantly, in the context of a larger dispute which we never invited. The point of principle involved was of much greater significance to us than any item of memorabilia.”
At the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin today, Judge Matthew Deery ordered Miss Cashman to return the items to the band within seven days.
He said he preferred the evidence of Bono, that he had not given the stylist permission to take the items, which were estimated to be worth around €5,000.
He noted in particular Ms Cashman’s unlikely description of the final night of the Joshua Tree tour in Phoenix, Arizona in December 1987, when she said Bono had given her the Stetson while running around backstage in his underpants.
“It seems to me that Ms Cashman’s version of events, the giving of the at, is unlikely to have occurred,” he said.
Neither U2, who are playing in Poland tonight as part of their Vertigo tour, nor Ms Cashman were present for the judgment in Circuit Civil Court in Dublin today.
But U2 said in heir statement that they wished Ms Cashman well in the future.
Ms Cashman had been personally hired by Bono in 1987 to replace their stylist who was on maternity leave.
During the two-day trial last week, Bono told the court Ms Cashman had a very good eye but was incredibly difficult for other crew members to work with.
She left the band in 1988 after they considered her price excessive, and went on to work as a stylist with George Michael and the Pet Shop Boys.
When she attempted to put the rock memorabilia up for sale, she received two letters from U2 lawyers in April 2002 seeking their return.
She started defamation proceedings against the band in the High Court in London.
Judge Deery said today he did not accept her claim that U2 had brought the case solely to stop defamation proceedings.
He added: “It appears therefore the outcome of these present proceedings in Ireland will substantially determine the outcome of the issue in the English courts.”
He said it seemed, from documents presented to the court, that U2 were an extremely successful band who had sold out all the tour dates for their Joshua Tree Tour in 1987, as well as their current Vertigo tour.
“It would seem odd if the group were to make a provision to pursue a claim of this nature if the subject was not of importance to the band,” he said.
The court had heard that U2 considered the items to be part of their working wardrobe and wanted to keep them for storage in their archives or for donation to museums such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, USA.
Judge Deery recounted Bono’s remark that the Stetson hat in particular had an iconic status and that giving it away would be ridiculous.
“It would be like the Edge giving one of his guitars away. It is not something which will happen,” said Bono.
Judge Deery said Ms Cashman had claimed that the pair of black trousers and the green sweatshirt had been given to her by Bono from a trunk because they were about to be disposed of.
“It’s highly unlikely that they were given in this way, and I feel the weight of the evidence is against the defendant’s version of events,” he said.
He said it was also very unlikely that Ms Cashman was given the pair of metal hoop earrings and a Christmas decoration as gifts by Bono.
He ruled that around 200 photographs taken by Ms Cashman on the Joshua Tree Tour should also be returned to the band, even though they were initially not part of the proceedings.
He said he was satisfied that they had been taken using film purchased by the band by Ms Cashman when she had unlimited access to her work as a stylist to intimate scenes such as band members dressing and undressing.
“There was an obligation on Ms Cashman to respect the confidentiality and to respect the dignity of the plaintiffs,” he said.
Ms Cashman used much of the material to write a book, Inside the Zoo with U2, in 2003 which detailed the problems Bono had with his weight and trivial items such as missing teeth from guitarist The Edge’s comb and food-stained white t-shirts worn by drummer Larry Mullen.
Judge Deery said there had been no mention of the giving of gifts to her by the band in the book.
He set a date for next Tuesday to decide on the issue of costs.
