Judge Rules Sammy Hagar Did Not Hire A Hit Man
A federal judge has thrown out a man's claim that Sammy Hagar hired a hit man to kill him. The complaint stemmed from a dispute over the Red Rocker's chain of Cabo Wabo restaurants.
According to court documents, developer Milton Barbis (along with Zone Sports Center and Fresno Rock Taco) sued Hagar and others involved with Cabo Wabo in 2010 for $100 million, claiming a breach of contract and emotional distress. That followed a 2008 claim in which Cabo Wabo Enterprises sued Fresno Rock Taco for breach of contract and trademark infringement (Fresno Rock had struck a licensing agreement with Red Head, Cabo Wabo's parent company).
The initial complaint was settled confidentially, but Barbis later said that Hagar made him sign the settlement under duress. In 2009, a judge barred Fresno Rock Taco from using any of Cabo Wabo's trademarks. And that led to the 2010 complaint, where Barbis claimed that Hagar left him an angry voicemail (allegedly telling Barbis, "I am going to f-----g kill you") and hired a hit man to actually do the deed.
But a U.S. district judge found that there is no "direct and admissible" evidence to support Barbis' claim. Courthouse News Service also reports that the judge "threw out all but two of Barbis' claims against Hagar in 2011, granting the former Van Halen frontman's motion to dismiss."