Ozzy Osbourne has issued a response to the lawsuit filed against him and his company Blizzard Music Limited by former bandmate Bob Daisley for unpaid royalties from the 1980 track "Crazy Train." According to the 67-year-old rocker's camp, Osbourne has been very diligent when it comes to sending payments to the retired Australian bassist.
Daisley forwarded the lawsuit to a court in Nevada on Aug. 8, according to NME. As stated in the document, Daisley along with guitarist Randy Rhodes collaborated with Osbourne to write "Crazy Train," which was featured in the singer's first solo album Blizzard of Ozz.
According to the plaintiff, although he had already received royalties from Osbourne and his company in the past, an audit revealed that the defendants had deducted certain fees from the full payment. As a result, Bailey is asking Osbourne and Blizzard Music Limited to pay him about $2 million.
"While Mr. Osbourne was benefitting from the songs co-authored by our client, the audit shows that he was systematically short-changing Mr. Daisley," Alan Howard, the lawyer of Daisley said in a statement according to NME.
"Mr. Daisley had no choice but to bring this action to secure his fair share of the proceeds those songs have generated," he added.
Osbourne's representatives, on the other hand, maintained that the artist and his company have been regularly sending payments to Daisley since the song first came out. They also noted that Daisley has already audited the company with the help of various firms but failed to come up with solid evidence to back up his claims.
"For the past 36 years Mr. Daisley has been receiving bi-annual royalty statements and checks from Blizzard Music, totaling in the millions of dollars, which have been routinely cashed," Osbourne's representatives said according to Billboard.
"Mr. Daisley has audited Blizzard Music accounts over the years using several different auditing firms who found no discrepancies," they added. "He has previously filed lawsuits in the U.K. and the U.S. and has lost on each occasion."
The rocker's camp then went on to say that Osbourne is determined and ready to protect his company and himself in court from Daisley's lawsuit.
