Former business partners Hynes,Taylor settle defamation suit Options

[lankylistener]

Defamation suit settled

Former York-area business partners Bill Hynes and Chad Taylor have settled a defamation lawsuit triggered by a 2023 article in Rolling Stone magazine in which Taylor accused Hynes of stealing from him and his fellow bandmates in the rock group Live.

The settlement was revealed in a court filing this week in Philadelphia County court, where Hynes filed the defamation suit against Taylor two years ago.

Terms were not disclosed but the filing included a signed and notarized affidavit from Taylor.
Taylor executed the affidavit "to correct and clarify certain statements made in the Rolling Stone interview," according to the document.

"Many of the implications and quotations contained in this article were based on my limited knowledge of the time, and I have subsequently learned through discovery that many of my impressions were not complete," he wrote in the affidavit.

Reached by email, Taylor said the affidavit spoke for itself and declined to comment on it.
"Now that this matter is concluded, my focus is on moving forward," wrote Taylor, who was the guitarist for Live. The band formed in York and rose to fame in the 1990s.
Hynes, in an interview, said: "I'm grateful with the settlement outcome. While there was no trial or verdict, the important thing is the truth came out. This resolution vindicates my position and allows me to move forward."

How did we get here: The magazine article and defamation suit have their origins in the legal disputes that have been swirling around Hynes, Taylor and the company they co-founded, York-based United Fiber & Data, since the early 2020s.

The Rolling Stone article chronicled the lawsuits and the divisions they were causing among members of Live, including singer Ed Kowalczyk, who was not involved in United Fiber & Data, known as UFD.
The allegations of theft originated in a lawsuit filed by Louis Appell III against Hynes, Taylor and their partners in UFD, former Live members Patrick Dahlheimer and Chad Gracey.

Appell III inherited a stake in the company from his father, the late Louis Appell Jr., a prominent York County business leader who lent millions of dollars to the venture before he died in 2016.
In a 2020 lawsuit, Appell III claimed Hynes, Taylor, Dahlheimer and Gracey drained money from the business for their personal pursuits, preventing it from making a profit.

The co-founders disputed the claims, and a settlement was reached in 2022.
But a year later, Hynes alone was criminally charged with theft from the company.
Hynes, who was CEO of UFD from 2017 to 2019, has maintained his innocence.

What's next: It is unclear how Taylor's affidavit will impact the criminal case, which is still pending.

One of the centerpieces of the case is Hynes's alleged theft of about $3 million from a grant awarded under the Redevelopment Assistance and Capital Program, a state grant program.

The money was awarded to UFD and related entities for reviving the blighted area around UFD's former home, a once-vacant printing factory at 210 York St. near WellSpan Park in York.
Taylor's affidavit suggests the grant money was going toward legitimate and broadly discussed purposes -- the acquisition of vacant properties for future revitalization.

They included a former prison eyed for use as a data center and a former factory considered as a potential site for a mini casino and entertainment venue.

"This had been our plan for years as part of our broader goal to redevelop the neighborhood, as defined by Louis Appell Jr.," Taylor said in the affidavit. With the exception of UFD's former headquarters, the properties remain undeveloped.

The background: Hynes and the three former Live members launched UFD in 2012 with a goal of bringing jobs and investment to York.

The company's signature achievement was the construction of a 323-mile fiber optic line between New York City and Ashburn, Virginia, where a cluster of data centers has cropped up over the last few years.

But the company struggled to make a profit, and it sold the fiber optic line and other assets this year in a roughly $36.6 million deal with Lightpath, a fiber optic company jointly owned by cable company Altice USA and a Morgan Stanley investment fund. Lightpath has said it sees great potential in the fiber optic line.

https://biznewspa.com/news/former-business-...efamation-suit/

Looks like Hynes is innocent after all!! Truth be told by Mr. Hynes. Can’t believe the fucking press for anything and others for that matter

This post has been edited by lankylistener: Mar 14 2025, 10:46 pm

[Badman]

While its unclear what the truth is, one thing IS certain. Hynes knows how to pick a lawyer!

Now the criminal case just needs to end and taylor needs to get back to focusing on the music.