Howard Stern might be the only guy in history to sue his employer during his employment and still manage to produce amazing content. And speaking of amazing content, I can only guess that his anger over having his lawsuit dismissed will only facilitate his coveted on-air outrage. Stern sued Sirius XM for $350 million after the two companies merged, claiming that his original contract with Sirius guaranteed him stock awards based on an increase subscriber numbers. Sirius XM argued that the XM subscribers don’t count toward the numbers, because Stern’s contract guaranteed him stock awards based only on an increase in Sirius subscribers. Stern countered that Sirius would not be in a position to merge if not for him, and if the merger made Sirius XM one company then he is owed money based on the increase in subscribers to that one company. But the Judge disagreed, saying, “While it may be true that Stern and Buchwald hoped and expected to reap the benefits from any significant growth that Sirius experienced after they entered into the agreement, that subjective expectation cannot suffice to override the clear, unambiguous language of the agreement.” Though I understand Stern’s argument, there’s a very important lesson to be learned here. If you ever join a company, make sure you contract accounts for a merger. Judges rule based on the law, not fairness.
In a recent interview, Artie Lange said he hopes to return to Howard Stern to promote his new book in November. Since Stern consistently refuses Lange’s requests to return, my guess is that this request won’t be any different. When previously asked about Lange’s return, Stern said, “I don’t even feel strong enough within myself or that I’d be doing the right thing by him, because I don’t want to do the wrong thing for Artie. I just want Artie to stay alive.”
