The trial for the dissolution of The Beatles’ contractual partnership – Decision

RECEIVER NAMED FOR THE BEATLES;McCartney Victor in First Episode in Legal Contest

LONDON, March 12 — Paul McCartney today won the first round in his battle to dissolve the Beatles’ partnership when a High Court judge appointed a public receiver to manage the group’s assets.

The ruling ousts the American producer, Allen Klein, and his company, Abkco Industries, Inc., as the Beatles’ manager.

However, the appointment of the receiver and manager was stayed, or postponed, for seven days pending a possible appeal by the other Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, who have opposed Mr. McCartney’s action. The lawyer for the three men said no decision had been’ made.

None of the Beatles nor Mr. Klein were in the London courtroom to hear the two‐hour judgment.

The judge, Sir Blanshard Stamp, said there had been no evidence that Mr. Klein had put or would put money from the Beatles’ partnership into his own pocket. But he said Mr. McCartney’s mistrust was justified in view of Mr. Klein’s dealings with an American company, Cameo Parkway, Inc., and his conviction Jn New York on income tax charges even though the conviction is being appealed,

London Accountant Named

Mr. McCartney had sought the appointment of a receive, to protect his interests until his suit for legal dissolution of the group is heard later this year. The court named James D. Spooner, a London accountant, to the post.

Three of the Beatles attributed the substantial increase in their income to Mr. Klein’s efforts and wanted to continue his employment, the judge said, but Mr. McCartney had never signed the document making Mr. Klein’s company the Beatles’ manager and did not consider himself bound by it.

Judge Stamp said he was satisfied that Abkco had received commissions “grossly in excess” of those specified in its appointment, but he said this had apparently been arranged in a later agreement between Mr. Klein and three of the Beatles without reference to Mr. McCartney. The judge suggested that the other Beatles might have committed ‘’a grave breach of their duties as partners.”

“I am satisfied on the accounts that the financial situation is confused, uncertain and inconclusive,” the judge said.

From The New York Times, March 13, 1971

Going further

The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1: 1969 – 73

In this first of a groundbreaking multivolume set, THE MCCARTNEY LEGACY, VOL 1: 1969-73 captures the life of Paul McCartney in the years immediately following the dissolution of the Beatles, a period in which McCartney recreated himself as both a man and a musician. Informed by hundreds of interviews, extensive ground up research, and thousands of never-before-seen documents THE MCCARTNEY LEGACY, VOL 1 is an in depth, revealing exploration of McCartney’s creative and personal lives beyond the Beatles.

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Maccazine - Volume 40, Issue 3 - RAM Part 1 - Timeline

This very special RAM special is the first in a series. This is a Timeline for 1970 – 1971 when McCartney started writing and planning RAM in the summer of 1970 and ending with the release of the first Wings album WILD LIFE in December 1971. [...] One thing I noted when exploring the material inside the deluxe RAM remaster is that the book contains many mistakes. A couple of dates are completely inaccurate and the story is far from complete. For this reason, I started to compile a Timeline for the 1970/1971 period filling the gaps and correcting the mistakes. The result is this Maccazine special. As the Timeline was way too long for one special, we decided to do a double issue (issue 3, 2012 and issue 1, 2013).