Chris Cornell's widow sued Soundgarden over his last seven recordings and called their $278,000 buyout offer "villainously low"

Chris Cornell recorded seven songs at his Miami Beach home studio in the months before he died. His widow, Vicky Cornell, said they were his solo work. The surviving members, Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd, said they were for a new Soundgarden album. In 2019 she sued the band in federal court in Florida, alleging they withheld hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties from her and her two children to force her to hand over the tapes. The case moved to Washington. In 2020 the band countersued over the recordings and the band's social media accounts; it later dropped claims that she misused charity concert money. In March 2021 a federal judge in Washington ruled the band had not withheld royalties. On 16 February 2021 she filed a second suit in Seattle over the price of Chris Cornell's share. She said the band offered $278,000 after an outside investor offered $16 million for part of the band's masters. She had offered the three members $4 million each on 17 December 2020, then $7 million each; both were rejected. In June 2021 she returned control of the social media accounts. On 17 April 2023 both sides announced an out-of-court settlement on undisclosed terms. In July 2026 Cameron said the final eight-song album with Cornell's vocals was being mixed. No release date has been set.