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November 29, 2009

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Jury finds that punk rocker underpaid bandmates

Sunday, May 21, 2000 | 10:28 a.m.

The three-week trial, in which jurors considered evidence such as the nature of punk credibility, ended Friday when the jurors awarded almost $200,000 in actual damages and another $20,000 in punitive damages to East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride and D.H. Peligro - also known as Ray Peppernell, Geoffrey Lyall and Darren Henley, respectively.

"The original ideals of the band, that's what Klaus, D.H. and myself were fighting for," East Bay Ray said after the decision. The three filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court, claiming that Biafra and his record company, Alternative Tentacles, failed to pay them more than $76,000 in royalties.

Biafra, born Eric Boucher, said the three sued in part because he refused to license the song "Holiday in Cambodia" to Levi's for an advertisement.

"They're punishing me for sticking to the principles of the band and underground, independent culture," said Biafra, who said he plans to appeal.

The band, which railed against the establishment with scathing lyrics about corporate greed, broke up in 1986, but retained a business partnership, Decay Music.

In Biafra's countersuit against Ray, the jury found that Ray mismanaged the partnership and ordered him to pay Biafra $5,000.

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