According to Billboard.com, Johnny Ramone’s widow has bought Joey Ramone’s brother out of the Ramones’ estate, which ends a years-long legal battle between the two heirs to the iconic punk band’s legacy. On February 2, a court filing from music manager Dave Frey, who is a former board member of Ramones Productions Inc. (RPI), disclosed publicly for the first time that a settlement has been reached in the messy feud between Johnny’s wife Linda Cummings-Ramone and Joey’s brother Mickey Leigh, whose real name is Mitchel Hyman.
“Ms. Ramone now has total control over RPI,” writes Frey’s attorney in the court filing, first obtained and reported by Billboard. “Mr. Mitchel Hyman, who was previously the other 50 percent owner of RPI, transferred his share to Ms. Ramone per a binding term sheet agreement of November 18, 2025. Ms. Ramone owns 100 percent of the shares of RPI and has free rein to fully control RPI.”
The legal war started in 2018, when Leigh initiated arbitration alleging Cummings-Ramone was using the band’s intellectual property on social media without permission. Cummings-Ramone responded by accusing Leigh of allegedly mishandling the estate by making business decisions out of self-interest. In 2019, an arbitrator ordered the two to make peace and get each other’s approval for business moves.
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