Bill Hynes suing Live guitarist Chad Taylor for defamation over claims of a $10M theft

In February, Rolling Stone magazine published a lengthy autopsy of the alt-rock band Live. 

At one time, three decades ago, the band was on the top of the rock world. Its second album – Throwing Copper – reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts and eventually sold eight million copies. The band toured incessantly. It played Woodstock ‘99, a reboot of the legendary rock festival that ended in flames and disaster, a foreshadowing of the band itself. 

Bad business decisions, recriminations, disagreements over money and a plethora of personal issues led not only to the demise of Live, but also to a morass of litigation. It almost seems like band members have more lawyers in their employ now than they had road crew when they were touring the world. 

Rolling Stone writer Andy Greene performed the post-mortem in a piece published on Feb. 18 headlined “How an Alleged Con Man Tore Apart One of the Nineties’ Biggest Bands.”  

In it, former guitarist Chad Taylor laid much of the blame for his legal troubles on former business partner, Bill Hynes, claiming that Hynes is “a con man” who had stolen $10 million from him and his bandmates, leaving Taylor “practically broke.” He also claimed that when he attempted to launch a new band, The Gracious Few, Hynes stiffed him by bouncing checks intended to pay for studio time and touring expenses. 

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Now, that piece has launched yet another lawsuit, one of the seemingly endless stream of litigation involving the band.  

Hynes has sued Taylor, claiming that the guitarist defamed him with those claims.  

“He knows it’s not true,” Hynes said. “It’s a pretty outlandish claim. He's going to have to prove them in court, and he’s not going to be able to because I never stole a penny from anybody.” 

In the suit, Hynes describes himself as “a successful real estate developer and financier,” saying that the “resolutions in several unrelated legal matters” led to him being “on the cusp of putting these matters behind him and potentially becoming a major player in the Philadelphia real estate market.” 

Hynes claims in the suit that Taylor made the statements to Rolling Stone with the intent of “deliberately attempting to cause the most damage” to his career. 

Hynes, according to the suit, “has never stolen $10 million from (Taylor) or his bandmates. The reason (Taylor) is practically broke is because of his own financial ineptitude and his lack of any business acumen.” 

Hynes asserts that Taylor knew the statements to be false “or alternatively, acted with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity.” 

The suit states, “There is absolutely no documentary or other evidence supporting the false allegations of (Taylor), because it is pure malicious fantasy. If (Taylor) had any evidence of this alleged theft, he would have obviously presented such documents to Rolling Stone demonstrating such.” 

Rolling Stone reported that the Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the theft of more than $3.82 million from one of three former Live members' business entities, United Fiber and Data. The investigation is pending, the magazine reported, and Taylor told the magazine that he is cooperating with the investigation.  

Further, Hynes asserts in the suit, Taylor “has never had $10 million to steal and, in fact, is bordering on insolvency himself. As such, it would be impossible for anyone, including (Hynes), to ever steal $10 million from (Taylor).” 

Hynes claims Taylor “intentionally chose the figure $10 million because it would shock the conscience of a casual reader and cause them to pay close attention to the individual accused of stealing such a gargantuan sum.” The suit asserts Taylor “did this to inflict maximum damage on (Hynes) and his business operations.” 

The “malicious and intentional statements were successful, and he has indeed harmed (Hynes’) reputation in this regard. Stealing $10 million is highly objectionable to the average person and generally considered to be a moral failing.” 

Hynes also claims in the suit that Taylor specifically chose Rolling Stone as “a perfect conduit for (his) lies, as the average reader would not believe that such a magazine would publish such blatant falsehoods.” 

The statements – including Taylor’s claim that Hynes bounced checks intended to pay for recording sessions – have “impaired” and “hindered” Hynes' ability to conduct his real estate business. 

“These statements were an atom bomb to (Hynes') reputation as a real estate developer,” according to the suit. “The mushroom cloud from (Taylor’s) false and malicious statements has also spread over (Hynes’) business operations statewide.” 

In an interview, Hynes described Taylor as “a narcissist and a pathological liar since grade school.” He also disputed Rolling Stone’s headline, saying, “I did not break up Live.”

Hynes also said he is keeping his legal options open and that his legal team is handling the matter. "It's all on the table," he said. "We plan to hold everyone associated with that article accountable for their words and actions."

Meanwhile, Hynes' legal problem involving a former girlfriend has been resolved. Last September, Hynes was sentenced to three years of probation, six months of which were to be under house arrest, related to allegations that he had stalked and abused a former girlfriend. He denies the allegations, but said he pleaded no contest to the charges to put the matter behind him.

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“If Taylor understood how to be the No. 2 guy (in the band), they could have been bigger than Metallica,” Hynes said. “Taylor sabotaged the entire band. ... He literally is the con man.” 

Taylor declined to comment on the suit, writing in an email that he is in the midst of securing legal representation in this matter and it would not be appropriate for him to comment at this time.  

Live does live on. Lead singer Ed Kowalczyk, who, for the most part, has stayed above the legal storm around the band, is the only remaining member of the original group, having wrested control of the band last year. He reformed the band with new members after firing his three high school buddies with whom he once reached the pinnacle of rock, only to crash amidst thousands of pages of legal filings.

Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been a York Daily Record staffer since 1982. Reach him at mike@ydr.com.