Alleged Defamation Lawsuit Against TAKING BACK SUNDAY Filed By Ex-Drummer MARK O’CONNELL Surfaces Online

Taking Back Sunday‘s Adam Lazzara, John Nolan, and Shaun Cooper, alongside the band’s manager, Jillian Newman, have allegedly been named in a defamation lawsuit filed by ex-drummer, Mark O’Connell, who departed the band earlier this year.

The reported court document was posted to the r/Emo subreddit by a user who then uploaded it in its entirety to Dropbox. You can access the link below.

According to the document posted by the user – filed in New York state in late May of this year, the document alleges that false and malicious statements were made by Lazzara, Nolan, and Cooper that prevented O’Connell from not only joining Taking Back Sunday again after a brief stint in rehab, but also from receiving other job opportunities within the industry.

This comes after an alleged pattern of behaviour from Taking Back Sunday who, according to the lawsuit, also behaved similarly during the departure of the band’s founding guitarist, Eddie Reyes, back in 2018. It says that Reyes was told collectively by Lazzara, Nolan, and Cooper (LNC) that Reyes needed to enter rehab before re-entering the band, and even when Reyes had completed his stay, LNC ignored this and told him he was no longer welcome in Taking Back Sunday.

According to the court document, in May of 2024, the same happened to Mark O’Connell when LNC did not allow O’Connell to join the band on the summer portion of the tour. Allegedly, LNC falsely claimed that O’Connell was struggling with drugs and alcohol and suffering from schizophrenia, and required him to enter rehab before joining Taking Back Sunday on their summer leg. And even despite the false nature of these claims – O’Connell says was a year sober at this point – he began regularly taking breathalyzer and drug tests three times a day to prove he was sober. He submitted these to the band with no apparent response. O’Connell is adamant he does not have schizophrenia and refused to be treated for it, which LNC, according to the lawsuit, LNC reportedly took issue with.

Despite being able to prove his sobriety and his state of mind, the band supposedly further ignored his attempts to reach out and rejoin Taking Back Sunday, and instead told him they wanted him to be treated even further for schizophrenia, to which O’Connell denied to enter an unnecessary program. Lazzara, Nolan, and Cooper then allegedly told O’Connell they wanted to part ways with him, against his wishes.

According to the document, Cooper, Nolan, Lazzara, and Newman (the band’s manager) then arrange a ‘smear campaign’ in which the band tells ten different people various allegations against O’Connell saying that he was “abusing drugs, “delusional,” “a threat to himself and others,” “a deadbeat dad,” “suicidal,” “addicted to drugs,” “having a mental breakdown,” “a liability to have on tour,” “a drug addict,” and “schizophrenic.” O’Connell is filing his defamation case on those statements made to outsiders, two of which were O’Connell‘s father himself and his ex-wife’s divorce attorney, who used those claims in their divorce and custody hearings, impacting the custody he has of his child and harming his ability to regularly see his children.

O’Connell also claims to have lost out on two separate business opportunities because of the slanderous statements, and that LNC were aware that what they were saying was indeed false.

And because of all of these alleged acts, the lawsuit entails:

• Count One –Defamation (against all named defendants),
• Count Two – Breach of Contract (Taking Back Sunday members only),
• Count Three – Breach of Fiduciary Duty (Taking Back Sunday members only),
• Count Four – Tortious Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage (all defendants listed),
• Count Five – Accounting (Taking Back Sunday Members Only).

The court document reports that damages are to be determined at trial, but must take into consideration “general, special, consequential, actual, punitive damages, and interest.” The resolution of this case would be that Lazzara, Nolan, Cooper, and Newman – or any parties even related to them – may not discuss, or slander, Mark O’Connell any further, as well as retract all statements publicly.

The second part of this lawsuit focuses on supposed money not paid by Taking Back Sunday to Mark O’Connell for touring done in 2024 before the summer leg, and part of the resolution for this case would be to access Taking Back Sunday‘s financial records to verify what O’Connell is allegedly owed, while also paying for O’Connell’s attorney fees and costs, in addition to any other compensation the court sees fit.

The lawsuit was filed by Mark O’Connell and his attorney, David Fish. David Fish is an attorney with a specialty in entertainment law out of New York City. His identity was verified in order to help verify the validity of the court documents, which you can see here.

Taking Back Sunday and Mark O’Connell have not commented publicly, and there is no word as to whether or not this lawsuit has been resolved in the last two months.

This situation is currently unfolding.