Mitchel Hyman Sues Johnny Ramone’s Widow Over Allegations Of Ramones Legacy Exploitation

According to nme.com, Joey Ramone’s brother Mitchel Hyman is allegedly suing Johnny Ramone’s widow Linda Cummings-Ramone for allegedly “exploiting” the Ramones‘ legacy. The band’s property is owned in equal parts by two heirs, Hyman and Cummings-Ramone, following the deaths of its four members. The pair allegedly do not get along with each other and in an alleged new lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday, August 23, Hyman’s lawyers allegedly accuse Cummings-Ramone of allegedly violating alleged federal trademark law by allegedly pursuing an alleged “unrelenting quest” to allegedly associate herself with the Ramones.

The alleged suit allegedly states: “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. She most certainly is not. She is nothing more than a blatant self-promoter and an infringer.”

The alleged case takes issue with Cummings-Ramone’s alleged use of the name “Linda Ramone,” despite “Ramone” allegedly not having been the legal surname of her late husband, nor any other member of the Ramones. In the new alleged lawsuit, Leigh’s lawyers allegedly say: “Ramones are unique in many ways. One of which is that they are the only band of stature where all the members are not related but use the same last name as if they were.

The lawyers allegedly continues with: “That made it easy for [the] defendant to insert herself into the Ramones legacy as part of the family, the public spokesperson, and to associate her personal brand with Ramones, by using the name ‘Linda Ramone’. Indeed, ‘Linda Ramone’ never existed while her husband, John Cummings was alive. Defendant increasingly adopted the name ‘Linda Ramone’ after Mr. Cummings died.”

The lawsuit claims that previous legal proceedings and agreements had allegedly restricted how Cummings-Ramone is allegedly allowed to use the name ‘Linda Ramone’ with lawyers allegedly claiming she has repeatedly exceeded those limitations.