The main Toto lawsuit was a 2018 case filed by Susan Porcaro-Goings, widow of co-founder and drummer Jeff Porcaro, against surviving members Steve Lukather and David Paich, alleging they had failed for more than 25 years to account for and pay Jeff’s estate its share of revenue from the Toto name. The case settled in July 2019, cost the band close to $1 million by Lukather’s account, and pushed Toto into a hiatus of more than a year.
Who Sued and What They Claimed
Susan Porcaro-Goings filed the complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court on March 12, 2018, naming Lukather and Paich as defendants. One outlet also listed vocalist Joseph Williams among the defendants.1Guitar.com. Steve Lukather Says Toto Are Done Making Albums The suit alleged unjust enrichment, fraud, and unfair competition, claiming Lukather and Paich had put their own financial interests ahead of the Porcaro estate.2NBC Los Angeles. Toto Co-Founders Widow Sues Bandmates
The core grievance was simple. Porcaro-Goings said the two had “refused to account and pay for Jeff’s interest in the Toto name” in the quarter-century since his death in August 1992, and that her repeated requests for revenue details had produced only incomplete answers.3Ultimate Classic Rock. Toto Lawsuit Breakup Jeff Porcaro had co-written “Africa” and played on every Toto album released during his lifetime; when he died at 38, his interest in the band’s name passed into his estate.4TMZ. Toto Lawsuit Jeff Porcaro Widow Royalties His brother Steve Porcaro, who had left the band in 1987, later said he had signed away his own rights at the time and that Jeff, still a member when he died, never had that opportunity.
The complaint asked for a full accounting of all Toto-related revenues, unspecified monetary damages, and an injunction against further acts of unfair competition.2NBC Los Angeles. Toto Co-Founders Widow Sues Bandmates
How the Case Was Resolved
The lawsuit never reached trial. Court records show the parties signed a settlement on July 25, 2019. Porcaro-Goings filed a request for dismissal with prejudice on August 27, 2019, and the court entered the dismissal the next day.5UniCourt. Susan Porcaro Goings vs. Steven L. Lukather et al.
The financial terms are confidential and disputed. Lukather told Rolling Stone the fight cost the band “almost a million dollars to fight it and pay all the fees,” and publicly claimed the settlement required him to pay Porcaro-Goings five percent of the gross of everything he earns going forward. Porcaro-Goings flatly denied that figure and said the band “didn’t have to spend any money on legal fees,” describing the resolution as a one-day mediation in which the defendants “had to provide exactly what we were asking for during that two-and-a-half years.”6Rolling Stone. Toto Africa Band Interview A local outlet reported the estate’s share was “possibly as high as five percent” of the band’s gross earnings.7102.9 The Whale. What a Toto Mess
There was a procedural wrinkle. The settlement agreement included a clause for the court to retain jurisdiction to enforce its terms, but the parties did not request that retention when the case was dismissed. When Porcaro-Goings later moved to vacate the dismissal and enforce the settlement in October 2020, Judge Monica Bachner denied the motion, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction and that the motion was untimely.5UniCourt. Susan Porcaro Goings vs. Steven L. Lukather et al.
What It Did to the Band
Lukather said the litigation “ripped apart lifelong friendships” and compared the experience to a band divorce.6Rolling Stone. Toto Africa Band Interview The sharpest break was between Lukather and Steve Porcaro. Lukather said Steve had neither contributed financially nor helped emotionally with the defense yet still wanted a share of the band name, and put it bluntly: “Now he hates my guts.”3Ultimate Classic Rock. Toto Lawsuit Breakup
Steve Porcaro pushed back, saying “nothing could be further from the truth” and that he did not hate Lukather. He acknowledged the final tour was “pretty rough with all the stress and screaming and 14-paragraph emails” but blamed the mess on the band being “ill-advised by shysters,” and noted the suit “had nothing to do with me” because he had relinquished his rights in 1987.3Ultimate Classic Rock. Toto Lawsuit Breakup6Rolling Stone. Toto Africa Band Interview He left the band in 2019.
David Paich, the other co-owner of the Toto name, had already stepped back from touring in 2018 for health reasons. Lukather said Paich had suffered a seizure after pushing too hard on the road.8Ultimate Classic Rock. David Paich Toto Concert Paich later described the period as one of exhaustion, fatigue, anxiety, and depression, and said he would “pick and choose” his live dates from then on.9The Progressive Aspect. David Paich Toto
Hiatus and Return
Toto played what Lukather called their final 40th-anniversary show in Philadelphia on October 20, 2019. He cited “horrendous, awful, mean lawsuits” alongside Paich’s health and 230 days a year on the road, and declared that “this version is dead.” He also left the door open: “I’m not saying I’m never gonna play this music again.”10SteveLukather.com. Toto To Go on Hiatus After Final 40th Anniversary Show in Philly
In October 2020 the band announced a return with a new lineup for 2021.6Rolling Stone. Toto Africa Band Interview Joseph Williams confirmed in early 2021 that he and Lukather had spent the pandemic year planning, and that the band was “desperate to play.”11The Aquarian. Joseph Williams Talks Where Hes At Musically Lukather cited the “legal blues” with the estate as his reason Toto would not make another studio album, saying the group would keep touring in part to “pay off the people that sued us.”1Guitar.com. Steve Lukather Says Toto Are Done Making Albums
A Separate Case: Toto v. Sony Music
The Porcaro-Goings suit is sometimes confused with an earlier, unrelated case. In February 2012, the band’s corporate entity, Toto, Inc., sued Sony Music Entertainment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging Sony had underpaid royalties on digital downloads sold through iTunes and Amazon. Toto sought $605,000 in compensatory damages and argued that digital downloads should be treated as “leases” of master recordings, a classification that would have carried a higher royalty rate under their contracts, which dated from 1977 to 2002.12Courthouse News Service. Sony Ducks Royalty Lawsuit From Toto
On September 29, 2014, U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan granted summary judgment to Sony, holding that the recording agreements unambiguously covered digital resellers as “licensees” and that standard downloads did not qualify as leases under industry custom. The court also dismissed Sony’s declaratory judgment counterclaim on Toto’s motion; Sony’s remaining counterclaims for breach of contract and unjust enrichment were left for further proceedings.13CDAS. Toto, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment14PlainSite. Toto, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment That case involved the record label; the 2018 case involved the band’s own members and the ownership of the Toto name.