Former Goo Goo Dolls drummer Mike Malinin is suing the band's frontman, Johnny Rzeznik, and bassist, Robert Takac, claiming he was kicked out of the band after he took paternity leave to be with his wife, who was giving birth to their twins.
Back in January, iHeartRadio reported that Malinin was leaving the Goo Goo Dolls after drumming with the band for nearly 20 years. The Goo Goo Dolls released a statement on their Facebook page at the end of 2013, saying that they wished Malinin "the best in his new journey and hope that fans and friends alike will take a minute to consider this decision was not taken lightly by anyone involved."
Malinin also issued a statement clarifying that it wasn't his decision to leave the band, but that he wouldn't be holding any grudges against Rzeznik and Takac.
But it looks like Malinin may have been lying about not holding a grudge, or at least experiencing a change of heart, because he's now decided to file a Federal lawsuit against Rzeznik and Takac, according to TMZ.
In the lawsuit, Malinin says that the Goo Goo Dolls were on tour in December 2013 when he got the call that his wife was in labor. Malinin added on that he had discussed going on paternity leave to spend time with his family with the rest of the band. However, instead of just leaving the band for a few weeks, he was told that he was getting kicked out by the band's manager.
In the lawsuit, Malinin alleges that Rzeznik said that he wanted him gone, and that he wasn't even given a severance package for the 19 years that he played for the Goo Goo Dolls.
Malinin is suing for the money he would have gotten as a member of the Goo Goo Dolls had he not been kicked out.
Image courtesy of Carlos Diaz/INFphoto.com.