Lindsey Buckingham sues Fleetwood Mac for kicking him out

UPDATE: Fleetwood Mac responded to news of Buckingham's lawsuit in a statement obtained Friday by EW. "Fleetwood Mac strongly disputes the allegations presented in Mr. Buckingham's complaint and looks forward to their day in court," the statement says. "The band has retained Dan Petrocelli to handle the case."

EARLIER: More than 40 years after Rumours, the members of Fleetwood Mac are still not quite at peace with each other. The iconic 1977 album famously featured songs detailing the members' various interpersonal affairs and feuds, and personnel issues still plague the band to this day.

Shortly after performing with the band at Radio City Music Hall back in January, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham was informed he was being ousted from the band. Now, Buckingham is suing his former bandmates for breach of fiduciary duty and breach of oral contract, saying that he is still owned his $12 million share of revenue from the band's new tour, according to legal documents obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

"During the entire time Buckingham has been a member of Fleetwood Mac, the Band has conducted itself as a partnership with each of the participating members having veto rights over Band decision making and an equal share of the proceeds earned by Fleetwood Mac," attorney Barry Mallen wrote in the complaint.

Earlier this week, Buckingham told Rolling Stone that his firing was instigated by bandmate (and former lover) Stevie Nicks, though she never contacted him directly. In fact, Buckingham said that he has not spoken with any of his former Fleetwood Mac bandmates — Nicks, drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie, and singer-keyboard player Christine McVie, with whom Buckingham recorded a duet album just last year — since the January concert at Radio City Music Hall. According to Buckingham, it was Fleetwood Mac manager Irving Azoff who contacted him in late January with a message from Nicks that she never wanted to share a stage with him again, and had given the other members an ultimatum to choose him or her. They apparently chose her.

"Last January, Fleetwood Mac made the decision to continue to tour without me. I remain deeply surprised and saddened, as this decision ends the beautiful 43-year legacy we built together," Buckingham told EW in a statement. "Over the last eight months, our many efforts to come to an agreement have unfortunately proved elusive. I'm looking forward to closure, and will always remain proud of all that we created, and what that legacy represents."