Mötley Crüe has won a decisive legal victory in a dispute with founding guitarist Mick Mars over his exit from the band, following his 2022 announcement that he could no longer tour due to worsening health issues linked to Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS).

In a January 2026 arbitration ruling, the Honorable Patrick Walsh (Ret.) concluded that Mars forfeited his rights to touring revenue upon stepping away from live performances, as stipulated in a 2008 band agreement that states any member who ceases touring does not share in tour income.

The final award rejected all of Mars's claims, including his demand for 25% of touring revenue in perpetuity, and ordered him to repay over $750,000 in unrecouped tour advances.

The decision also upheld the band’s right to terminate Mars as an officer and director for cause.

Mars, who has been a member of Mötley Crüe since its inception in 1981, initially announced his retirement from touring in October 2022, stating he could no longer perform due to his degenerative condition.

Despite this, he filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court in early 2023, alleging that the band sought to remove him from business and ownership roles through a shareholders’ meeting.

Mars claimed the band was unjust in refusing to continue paying him for touring income and accused the group of not performing live during the 2022 The Stadium Tour, asserting that Nikki Sixx’s bass and Tommy Lee’s drums were pre-recorded.

Those claims collapsed under scrutiny.

Mars’s retained expert, a New York University professor of music technology, confirmed that the band performed live during the tour.

Mars formally recanted his allegations under oath.

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Mötley Crüe’s manager Allen Kovac described the accusations as a 'slanderous' smear campaign, stating that Mars’s representatives had guided him to make false claims to damage the band’s reputation.

Kovac emphasized that Mars was treated better than any other member and that the band had carried him through his illness, calling the situation a form of 'elder abuse.' Nikki Sixx affirmed in a 2025 interview that the band had always played live, noting that background vocals and layered sounds were studio-created and did not negate live performance.

He dismissed Mars’s claim that he was the only member to play 100% live on the tour, pointing out that both Nikki and John 5 contributed to background vocals and that Vince Neil had improved his vocal performance during the tour.

Kovac also noted that Mars repeatedly played the wrong songs and parts during live shows, often relying on sound engineers to correct the mix, which disrupted the performance and created a 'train wreck' on stage.

Despite Mars’s continued public assertions, the arbitration has fully vindicated Mötley Crüe legally, financially, and factually.

The final judgment confirms the band’s authority under its governing agreement and underscores the integrity of its live performances.

Mars, whose real name is Robert Alan Deal, co-wrote several of the band’s most iconic tracks, including 'Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.)', 'Girls, Girls, Girls', and 'Dr.

Feelgood', and holds instrumental credit on early albums such as 'Shout at the Devil'."