The current absence of guitarist Dustie Waring from Between The Buried And Me‘s ongoing tour, celebrating their Colors albums, seems to have been clarified through legal documents shared by Waring himself. The progressive metal group began the tour last month with Tristan Auman once again stepping in for Waring.
Waring had previously refrained from touring with the band last summer following a rape allegation against him, which he denied. He later rejoined his bandmates onstage last fall. In a recent social media post on April 8th, Waring shared a letter addressed to Bryan K. Christner, Esq., an entertainment and new media law attorney representing Between The Buried And Me. This letter, authored by Timothy C. Parlatore, Esq., who represents Waring, sheds light on recent events surrounding Waring‘s departure.
According to Parlatore‘s letter dated March 28th, 2024, Waring‘s legal representative claims that since January 25th of this year, the band had been attempting to terminate Waring from the group in light of the allegation.
Parlatore letter to Christner stated:
“…The allegations against Mr. Waring were proven false. Upon further investigation, digital forensic evidence confirmed that the allegations of sexual assault were made by a man posing as a female as part of an extortion plot. Removing someone from their company because they were a victim of a crime is not a legally permissible reason.”
Parlatore further alleges that on March 6th of this year, the band began seeking Waring‘s dismissal due to “unsatisfactory” live performances. He asserts that this rationale was used to justify terminating Waring‘s position, mentioning a lengthy meeting and highlighting that Waring had performed live from a chair during two full tours.
Parlatore argues that Waring‘s use of a chair stemmed from a previous injury, which he had since recovered from. Referring to a prior email exchange with Christner, Parlatore claims that Christner mentioned Waring‘s dismissal:
“Your client was not removed from the band of the 2023 sexual assault allegations against him or because he is disabled. Your client was terminated from the band because of: (a) his failure to render first-class live performances; (b) his failure to timely notify the band of his inability to perform at all the band’s live performances; and (c) his overall demeanor and negative behavior with his fellow band mates. their family members, and the band’s crew.”
Parlatore continues by asserting that the aforementioned reasons were “untethered,” suggesting that the assumed justifications for Waring‘s dismissal were:
“1. That Tommy Rogers was upset that Mr. Waring objected to his wife making public statements supporting the extortionist’s false claims against Mr. Waring: and
2. The band members now realize that by getting rid of Mr. Waring, they each receive a financial windfall of 25% of the profits. Whereas before they only received a 20% share. This translates to a seven-figure incentive for each member to get rid of Mr. Waring.”
Parlatore continued:
“As we have discussed, there is no provision within the operating agreement to force any member of the LLC to be involuntarily removed or force an involuntary sale of their interests in the company. There is also no provision that allows some members to unilaterally reduce the profits to be paid to one of the members of the LLC, yet the financial documents you have provided thusfar indicate that this was unlawfully done. This includes the profits from the current tour that Mr. Waring was unlawfully excluded from.
If your clients are unwilling to either engage in a reasonable, fact-based, settlement negotiation, Mr. Waring has no choice but to file a lawsuit to ensure that his rights are protected. Given the way the discussions have preceded thusfar. I would strongly advise your client to retain additional counsel with litigation experience to make the discussions more fruitful. However. I need to hear from you by next Friday. April 5, 2024.
Additionally, Tommy Rogers and Paul Waggoner may be named as individual defendants due to personal conduct, so they may want to hire individual counsel as well. If we are unable to reach a resolution, then I will begin preparing to file in the U.S. District Court.”
Waring posted the following screencaps on his Instagram story:
