‘City by the bay’ to settle Journey’s Neal Schon lawsuit for

[tater1977]

‘City by the bay’ to settle Journey’s Neal Schon lawsuit for $290K

http://www.sfexaminer.com/city-by-the-b ... -for-290k/

By Joshua Sabatini on November 10, 2015 5:21 pm

Journey’s “Lights” is a love song for San Francisco — but the band’s guitarist believes he was shown little affection when he decided to rent the Palace of Fine Arts for his 2013 wedding.

Neal Schon, one of the most well-known musicians connected to San Francisco, filed a lawsuit last February in federal court alleging that he was “extorted” by city officials for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

City officials also held his wedding permit hostage until the exorbitant amount was paid, according to the suit.

The lawsuit can be found here. http://www.sfexaminer.com/wp-content/up ... ourney.pdf

The City has agreed to pay Schon $290,000, according to a settlement agreement pending approval by the Board of Supervisors. The amount is just shy of the $295,566 in fees and other related costs The City required for the wedding event, according to the lawsuit filed Feb. 6 in U.S. District Court.

“Despite what The City’s government did to us, we love our ‘City by the Bay’ and its residents,” Schon said in a statement to the San Francisco Examiner. “We couldn’t be happier that we’ve been vindicated.” His wife, TV reality star Michaele Salahi, called the city’s conduct “reprehensible.”

Schon was initially quoted a $60,000 fee to rent the rotunda of the Palace of Fine Arts. But as news of the event leaked out to the press, along with Schon’s plans to broadcast the event on Pay-Per-View at $15 per person, city officials began raising the fees, even objecting to the “Royal, Sexy, Magic” theme.

The cost ballooned to nearly $240,000, including such added fees as a $100,000 “premium reservation fee,” and a $50,000 “park regeneration fee.” The City wouldn’t release the wedding permit until the fees were paid.

Schon’s attorney James Quadra, of Quadra & Coll, said in a statement that “the city charged Neal and Michaele arbitrary and astronomical fees for the use of public property. It was unconstitutional.”

The couple “should have been excited and happy in the days leading up to their wedding,” the lawsuit said. “Instead, they were being extorted by Defendants.” The defendants named were Phil Ginsburg, head of the Recreation and Department, which oversees the property, and his staff Dana Ketcham, permits manager, and Diane Rea, events specialist.

The couple also rented out the space in the nearby old Exploratorium building, which was then occupied by Town School for Boys for the reception. The couple had planned to title one of the rooms “sexy” but city officials expressed “concern that the room would suggest profane or pornographic thematic elements.”

City officials told the couple in order to broadcast the event a $25,000 film permit was required “as well as a $200,000 donation to a nonprofit organization, the Maybeck Foundation, for the anniversary of the Palace.”

Schon didn’t make the donation, but did pay the other fees. The couple ended up paying $236,366 for the use of the Palace of Fine Arts and $59,199 for the old Exploratorium building.

Matt Dorsey, a spokesman for City Attorney Dennis Herrera said, “We’re glad we could reach an agreement to resolve the dispute amicably, and we wish Neal and Michaele every happiness in married life.”

[FamilyMan]

These guys sure are making a lot of news for matters not about their music.

[perryfan61]

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... 0203435128

Note Neal's comments!

[scarab]

I wish I could feel good for him, but putting your wedding on pay per view is probably the tackiest thing even a Kadashian wouldnt even do.

Oh yeah Neal, It was written for LA.

[tater1977]

San Francisco considers $290,000 payout for Journey wedding

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/entert ... 68054.html

By JANIE HAR

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO —

San Francisco supervisors are considering a $290,000 payout to settle a lawsuit by the guitarist of rock band Journey over his lavish 2013 wedding to a former reality television star.

A committee of the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to take up the proposed settlement Thursday.

Neal Schon married "Real Housewives of D.C." star Michaele Salahi in December 2013 at the Palace of Fine Arts with a reception at an adjacent building that once housed the Exploratorium science museum.

Schon said he agreed to pay the city $58,000 for the use, but was surprised to learn days before the wedding that he would have to pay $240,000 for the opulent event to go on. He reluctantly paid, likening the price hike to "extortion."

The couple sued in federal court in February, claiming that the city unfairly jacked up the fee after learning the couple planned to broadcast the event on pay-per-view.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera initially defended the higher charge as appropriate for a commercial event. He could not be reached immediately for comment Wednesday, which is a government holiday.

In a statement this week, Michaele Schon called the city's conduct "reprehensible" and said "hopefully, this will make the city think twice before doing this to anyone else in the future."

Journey is a band nearly synonymous with San Francisco in some circles. Its song "Don't Stop Believing" is the unofficial theme song of the San Francisco Giants.

Before starring in the 2010 season of "Housewives," Salahi made headlines when she and her then-husband crashed a state dinner at the White House in 2009.

[tater1977]

Journey’s Neal Schon wins settlement over wedding-fee gouging

By Evan Sernoffsky

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/S-F- ... 624791.php

The city of San Francisco is set to pay back Journey’s Neal Schon more than a quarter million dollars to resolve a lawsuit claiming officials gouged the famed lead guitarist and his wife for their lavish 2013 wedding at the Palace of Fine Arts, an attorney for the couple said.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering a $290,000 settlement with Schon and his wife, Michaele, for jacking up permit fees $240,000 just days before their extravagant “Winter Wonderland Wedding and Music Event,” according to attorney Rebecca Coll.

'When the city tried to take advantage of us right before our wedding, we paid the fee because we would not let our wedding be ruined or delayed,” Schon said in a statement. “If someone tries to hurt us or take advantage of us, we will always stand up for ourselves.”

The Schons claimed that days before the wedding, the city “extorted” them by tacking on charges like a “premium reservation fee” of $100,000 and a “park regeneration fee” of $50,000 on top of the $58,000 rental fee the couple agreed to pay for the event after it was too late to change plans.

San Francisco’s published rate for renting the space is $350 plus $100 per hour.

“We’re glad we could reach an amicable resolution to the dispute and wish the Schons every happiness in married life,” Matt Dorsey, a spokesman for City Attorney Dennis Herrera, said Wednesday.

The opulent Dec. 15, 2013, wedding included a pay-per-view live broadcast with performances by Journey and Tower of Power. Guests, including Sammy Hagar and members of Journey (former front man Steve Perry was conspicuously absent), sat beneath 36 crystal chandeliers in a white tent in the rotunda.

Schon’s bride is the former Michaele Salahi, who became infamous in 2009 when she and her ex-husband, Tareq Salahi, crashed a White House reception for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. She later appeared on Bravo’s “Real Housewives of D.C.”

“Nothing can take away from the beauty and love we shared on our wedding day, but the city’s conduct leading up to our wedding was reprehensible and we could not let it stand,” said Michaele Schon. “Hopefully, this will make the city think twice before doing this to anyone else in the future.”

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky

[tater1977]

SF green lights $290,000 payout for Journey wedding

http://www.kctv5.com/story/30497603/sf- ... ey-wedding

By JANIE HAR
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A committee of the San Francisco supervisors recommended approving a $290,000 payout to settle a lawsuit by the guitarist of rock band Journey over his lavish 2013 wedding to a former reality television star.

Following the move Thursday, it now goes before the full board on Dec. 1 and again on Dec. 8. If it passes, Mayor Ed Lee will have 10 days to sign or veto it.

Neal Schon married "Real Housewives of D.C." star Michaele Salahi in December 2013 at the Palace of Fine Arts with a reception at an adjacent building that once housed the Exploratorium science museum.

Schon said he agreed to pay the city $58,000 for the use, but was surprised to learn days before the wedding that he would have to pay $240,000 for the opulent event to go on. He reluctantly paid, likening the price hike to "extortion."

The couple sued in federal court in February, claiming that the city unfairly jacked up the fee after learning the couple planned to broadcast the event on pay-per-view.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera initially defended the higher charge as appropriate for a commercial event.

In a statement, his spokesman Matt Dorsey, said Thursday that "We're grateful we were able to reach an amicable agreement to resolve the dispute, and we wish Neal and Michaele every happiness in married life."

Also in a statement this week, Michaele Schon called the city's conduct "reprehensible" and said "hopefully, this will make the city think twice before doing this to anyone else in the future."

Journey is a band nearly synonymous with San Francisco in some circles. Its song "Don't Stop Believing" is the unofficial theme song of the San Francisco Giants.

Before starring in the 2010 season of "Housewives," Salahi made headlines when she and her then-husband crashed a state dinner at the White House in 2009.

[annie89509]

But they're not "anyone else" ... and anyone else would not be putting their wedding on "pay per view"

[The_Noble_Cause]

These guys sure are making a lot of news for matters not about their music.

Agreed. This is just a continuation of a disturbing trend that started when the band shot a video for "Resonate" featuring Neal and Michaele rolling around on the beach "From Here to Eternity-style." That was an all-time low. Neal, seemingly like a low self-esteem girl in high school, seems to change his personality depending on who he is going steady with. For Amber, he was moving to Minnesota. Then he had his other gf take over the Journey website and replace loyal webmaster employee CJ. And now, with Michaele (whose actual name is Michelle btw), Neal has become a self-seeking publicity hound. Can anyone imagine Arrival-era Neal doing a pay-per-view wedding? It's all rather schlocky and embarrassing. Personally, I miss the old days when rock stars were idolized from afar and not worried about Instagramming their morning stool.