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Case file s1719 · Music and sport · 1991
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1991
Eric Carr: Eric Carr (1983)
Eric Carr. MTV. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Died
24 November 1991
Place
New York, New York · United States
Field
hard rock drumming (KISS) · Music on the timeline
Legal tradition
US common law (New York) · Common law
Historical event
KISS's unmasked era, 1983 to 1996
Music and sportPostwarNorth AmericaUnited States

A lawyer sued KISS in the name of Eric Carr's estate, and Carr's family said they had never authorized it

Eric Carr replaced Peter Criss as KISS drummer in 1980 and played on eight albums. He died of cancer complications at 41†. On 10 March 2014 attorney Robert Garson filed suit in New York County Supreme Court on behalf of "The Estate of Eric Carr" and his heirs. It named KISS, two publishing firms and Gene Simmons Worldwide Inc., and alleged that Simmons and Paul Stanley had withheld royalties since Carr's death. It claimed a 5 to 50 percent share of four songs Carr wrote: "Breakout," "Carr Jam 1981," "Carr Jam 1991" and "Little Caesar." It cited a 1989 KISS Co. receipt for $4,000. Two days later the Carr family's attorney, Mark Abbattista, said the suit was filed by a "non-related third party" without the knowledge, authorization or consent of anyone in the family. He said Garson had been ordered to cease and desist from acting for the family. Carr's sister, Loretta Caravello, posted a letter on KISS's website saying the family was shocked and knew nothing about it. Stanley called it an "attempted scam." The family said it had known the band for almost 35 years. No ruling in the case was reported. In 2026 Caravello manages her brother's recordings and name.

What the law took from it

An estate with no publicly named representative can have strangers file suits in its name.

Sources
  1. loudwire.comPress
  2. ultimateclassicrock.comPress
  3. blabbermouth.netPress
  4. loudwire.comPress
  5. ultimateclassicrock.comPress

Cite as: celebrity.estate, “A lawyer sued KISS in the name of Eric Carr's estate, and Carr's family said they had never authorized it,” story s1719, https://www.celebrity.estate/eric-carr-1991, updated 30 October 2026.

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Where this case sits

Music and sportPostwarNorth AmericaCommon lawUnited States