Ramones legal battle over estate finally reaches settlement after several years
A settlement has been reached in the years-long legal feud regarding control of the Ramones‘ estate.
On February 2nd, it was revealed in court documents that Johnny Ramone’s widow, Linda Cummings-Ramone, had bought out Joey Ramone’s brother, Mitchel Hyman (also known as Mickey Leigh), to have total control of the estate.
Per Billboard, the information was disclosed in a court filing by music manager Dave Frey, a former board member of Ramones Productions Inc.
In the court filing, obtained by Billboard, Frey’s attorney wrote, “Ms. Ramone now has total control over RPI. Mr. Mitchel Hyman, who was previously the other 50 percent owner of RPI, transferred his share to Ms. Ramone per a binding term sheet agreement of November 18, 2025.”
The statement continued, “Ms. Ramone owns 100 percent of the shares of RPI and has free rein to fully control RPI”.
Since Joey and Johnny, who weren’t actually brothers, passed away, the estate has been split 50/50 between Hyman and Cummings-Ramone, which has led to two decades of squabbles regarding the band’s intellectual property.
Frey, who had been appointed to the board by Leigh, was subsequently removed from his position after an arbitrator found that Frey violated the shareholder agreement by developing a Netflix biopic without Cummings-Ramone’s permission.
The Netflix film, first announced in 2021, was set to star Pete Davidson and the script was based on Hyman’s memoir, I Slept With Joey Ramone. However, due to legal proceedings, the project was put on hold, and it remains unclear whether it will ever materialise.
The bitter feud escalated in 2024 when Hyman filed a new lawsuit. In the filing, his legal representatives stated: “Ms. Cummings-Ramone has made and continues to make blatant attempts to exploit and personally capitalize on and benefit from the name, goodwill and legacy of the Ramones — that is, to try to push the false narrative that she is the heiress to … the Ramones’ legacy.”
Finally, the two decades of legal battles appear to have come to an end, and perhaps, Davidson’s I Slept With Joey Ramone biopic will eventually become a reality.
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