Music

Metallica's Lars Ulrich being sued by former personal assistant

by Ciaran Thompson

When former personal assistant Steve Wig alleges that he worked up to 80 hours a week and was on call 24 hours a day for Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, it’s kind of difficult not to believe him. The drummer is a member of one of the biggest metal bands in music history and that’s probably the reason why he might win a recent lawsuit he filed saying Ulrich owes him for years of unpaid overtime.

The Marin Independent Journal reports that Wig is seeking unspecified damages for alleged state and federal labor violations, breach of oral contract, and continuing wages. He says the often temperamental drummer failed to pay him for the amount of overtime hours he worked and didn’t hand out bonuses they had agreed on.

Along with working at the band’s recording studio and going on tour with them, Wig says he was Ulrich’s chauffeur, managed his art collection, arranged scheduling, and performed numerous other tasks and errands.

Attorney Peter Paterno, who is representing Ulrich, says he hasn’t seen the lawsuit and “Lars’ accountant is checking on 2006, but Steve got bonuses in every other year of his employment, deserved or not. Specifically, in 2008, he received an extra $18,000. So it’s not clear what’s motivating this, but it really doesn’t seem to be about his compensation, does it?”

A judge is set to hear the case on June 24 at Marin Superior Court.