Gayngs Win Lawsuit Against Bus Company for Maliciously Forcing Them to Cancel ACL

When all-star musical collective Gayngs missed their set at Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL) last year, they blamed their no-show on their tour bus. They claimed the bus suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night on Oct. 10, 2010, still carrying their equipment, gear and personal belongings. It was actually ordered to rush back to the bus company's Nashville headquarters immediately, but it wasn't the band's fault -- and a jury agrees with them.

On May 18, Gayngs was awarded more than $100,000 in compensatory and punitive damages in a lawsuit stemming from charges they pressed against the bus company, C.J. Starbuses, Inc., following the incident. In winning the court battle, Gayngs was able to successfully demonstrate that the company engaged in unfair and deceptive practices and that they maliciously prevented the band from appearing at ACL.

"It was based on a contract dispute," Gayngs' manager Nate Vernon tells Spinner, who explains that the company demanded thousands of dollars more from the band than they agreed upon. "It then quickly got out of control when [the owner] instructed the bus driver to drive back in the middle of the night."

Led by Ryan Olson, Gayngs is a soft-rock, 24-artist collective featuring members of Bon Iver (including Justin Vernon, pictured), Solid Gold, Magafaun, the Rosebuds and others. Their debut album, 'Relayted,' was released last May and during its release party -- the band's first live show, ever -- Prince even showed up and jammed along, privately, backstage, on guitar.

As for missing ACL 2010, Vernon says that the promoters were supportive and understanding and that the band will still have the opportunity to "get a rain-check performance" in the near future. Well, at least we now know that they weren't just playing hookie. Of course, we'll still need to see a note from the judge...