Talks to Settle Fight Over Jerry Garcia’s Guitars Fall Apart

Settlement talks between the Grateful Dead and a Bay Area guitar maker to whom the late Jerry Garcia had willed his guitars collapsed Monday, and lawyers said they now will resume the long-standing court battle that has held up distribution of the rock star’s estate.

Attorneys for Grateful Dead Productions and Doug Irwin, whose clients have included such musicians as Neil Young and Carlos Santana, expressed disappointment that a pending deal had fallen through.

Irwin had filed a petition in March in Marin County Superior Court seeking a ruling that he was rightful owner of five guitars that he had built for Garcia and that Garcia had willed to him.

Grateful Dead Productions, representing several of Garcia’s old bandmates, had argued that Garcia couldn’t leave the instruments to Irwin because he didn’t own them.

The band members, with the exception of Phil Lesh, contended that they had owned all their instruments jointly.

Nonetheless, in a proposed settlement, they had offered to give two of the handmade electric guitars--one nicknamed “Wolf” and another that Garcia had called “Tiger”--to Irwin.

The guitar maker, it was noted, has been down on his luck in recent years because of a disabling hit-and-run accident that left him essentially homeless.

But Irwin, a tall, angular man with a ready wit and a quick temper, had chafed at the band’s demand that, should he put the guitars up for sale, they would get first right of refusal.

Also, he had contended during settlement talks that the band wanted him to agree not to publicly disparage the agreement.

“I drew the line when their lawyer’s fine print said that I had to do a joint press conference with the Grateful Dead where I would have to say that I was fully satisfied with the settlement,” Irwin said in a statement.

Eric Doney, the Grateful Dead’s attorney, could not be reached for comment. However, he has said that the band members liked Irwin and wanted to do right by the longtime artisan.

Garcia and the band had been known for their largess to those who worked for them, but the bequest had pitted that imperative against the Grateful Dead’s communal ethic.

Irwin’s attorneys said depositions will resume later this month.

“I’m afraid the devils in the details have swallowed up the angels in the accord,” said William Romaine, one of Irwin’s lawyers.

“In spite of our best efforts, all we have is the litigation we started with.”