The always-impeccably-dressed Swedish rockers The Hives are going to have to swap their suits for a cheaper alternative after losing a $2.8 million court battle to fellow Swedes The Cardigans, bringing a two year court case to a close.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the two artists were involved in a legal dispute revolving around popular Swedish recording studio Tambourine Studios in Malmö, which doubles as the accounting firm for both groups, with the Lund District Court ruling in favour of the popular ’90s rock group The Cardigans.
The ‘Lovefool’ hitmakers will take home 18.5 million kronor ($A 2.80 million) plus have their legal fees taken care of courtesy of the ‘Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist-fronted five-piece, as it was revealed that the stylish group had unpaid debt to the The Cardigans. The Hives were forwarded finances through Tambourine Studios, also an accounting firm for both groups, and claim to have been unaware where the money was coming from.
The Swedish rockers will now challenge the verdict, according to the Hives’ lawyer Monica Crusner, saying that it is wrong to order the money be repaid when they didn’t benefit from the loan. The Hives believe that since they didn’t gain anything from the transfer they therefore shouldn’t be liable. The Hives were forwarded finances through Tambourine Studios, also an accounting firm for both groups, and claim to have been unaware where the money was coming from.
Crusner will be kept busy with The Hives who have been involved in an ongoing lega stoush with the studio, while The Hives are also suing their former accountant.
The Cardigans attorney David Berggren praised the ruling saying: “We are obviously very pleased with the verdict. The district court has concluded that, irrespective of how the money has been transferred, and why, [The] Hives still enjoyed the benefits of the money.”
Tambourine Studios are currently embroiled over a number of lawsuits for their strange money-forwarding practices, which included transferring money from top earners on their books to those a little more strapped for cash, a la The Cardigans and The Hives.
Before the $2.8 million verdict was revealed, The Hives made a post on their blog reading: “There are no loan agreements, no signed documents, no agreements on interest rates,” in regards to their accounting with Tambourine Studios.
Despite this, the court ordered the group to repay all the money, with Lund Court Chief Judge Ulla Nilsson saying that, even though the money “shouldn’t be viewed as a loan,” it still had to be repaid “since there is no reason… to keep the money that came from The Cardigans.”
According to the Daily Telegraph article, ’80s group Europe, best-known for their hit ‘The Final Countdown’, are also taking the troubled studio to court claiming that the company forged signatures on some of their documents regarding finances.
