Fat Mike sued by NOFX bandmate Eric Melvin for “financial malfeasance”
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(Credits: Stefan Brending / Stuart Sevastos)
NOFX guitarist Eric Melvin has sued the band’s singer, Fat Mike, over claims of “financial malfeasance”.
The punk icons bid farewell to their career, which spanned more than 40 years, in October 2024, with three shows in San Pedro, California.
Just hours after they departed the stage in San Pedro, Melvin launched a legal filing against Fat Mike (real name Michael Burkett), a fellow band member has now confirmed.
Drummer Erik Sandin revealed news of the lawsuit during a NOFX roundtable discussion that took place at the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas over the weekend, which he said was filed on October 7th, 2024. Melvin was absent from the event.
The prepared statement, delivered by Sandin, began, “Eric Melvin is not here today with us because of the following reason: at 8am on Monday morning, after the final NOFX show ever, Eric Melvin’s lawyers served Fat Mike legal papers accusing him of financial malfeasance.”
In law, financial malfeasance is an act that is illegal and causes physical or monetary harm to someone else.
Providing further context, Sandin added, “Ten hours earlier we finished playing the final show of our 42-year career. It was the most amazing and emotional send-off ever, nothing but love, family, tears and love. That letter broke my heart, as well as the rest of the band and the crew. It still hurts today, and it hurts right now saying it.”
The drummer also claimed, “Melvin has made it clear, and perfectly clear, on this matter that to talk about it with him or anybody, it must go through his counsel.”
On a personal note, he said of his relationship with Fat Mike, “I’ve known Mike for 43 years – I knew him for a year before NOFX: Mike is a lot of things, we all know that, he’s a complicated person, but he is not a thief. I will go on record saying he is not a thief.”
He concluded, “We hope this gets resolved soon. But until then, here we are, and it is what it is. And for the obvious reasons we can not, and will not, discuss any further.”
The specific details of the lawsuit have not been made public.
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