The legal battle between former members of Ghost and the band’s mastermind Tobias Forge has taken a rather interesting turn. This past October saw the lawsuit filed by former Ghost members—Simon Söderberg (Alpha), Mauro Rubino (Air), Henrik Palm (Ether) and Martin Hjertstedt (Earth)—against Forge dismissed in the Linköping District Court in Linköping, Sweden. The case was dismissed after the court was unable to find convincing evidence of a partnership between Forge and the former members.

The four ex-members had alleged that they had entered into a partnership during their tenures in the band as ‘Nameless Ghouls‘ that would see earnings from the group distributed more equally.

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Forge himself has persistently denied such an arrangement ever existed and alleged that the members were viewed more as session/touring members.

The lawsuit itself sought access to the financial records for the band so the ex-members seek more compensation for their time in the group. As part of the dismissal, the ex-members of the band were also ordered to cover 1.3 million kronor (roughly $145,000 USD) of Forge‘s legal fees.

According to NT.se, those four ex-members have now requested a new trial with their attorney Michael Berg alleging there may have been some chicanery at play.

His basis for that is an allegation that both the Judge who presided over the case, Henrik Ibold, and Forge are members of the same branch of the Swedish Order Of Freemasons.

NT.se contacted Ibold and asked him if he knew that Forge was a member of the order when overseeing the case, to which he stated that he had heard rumors, but was unaware if they were true. Forge‘s lawyer meanwhile declined to comment on the matter.

As of yet the court has yet to decide if they will move ahead with the appeal or not.