No public record cited in contemporary coverage establishes that Billy Joel scammed Liberty DeVitto or that a court found fraud. DeVitto, Joel’s longtime drummer, sued Joel and Sony Music in 2009, alleging unpaid royalties tied to 11 albums. The case settled in April 2010, but the settlement terms were not disclosed.
What DeVitto’s lawsuit alleged
DeVitto played with Joel from 1975 to 2005. In May 2009, he sued Joel and Sony Music, claiming he was owed royalties connected to 11 albums recorded between 1975 and 1990. Contemporary reports said DeVitto had gone ten years without an accounting; that is not evidence that royalties went unpaid for all 30 years he worked with Joel. Pollstar’s 2010 account and ABC News Australia’s report describe the claim and settlement.
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The amount DeVitto sought was not specified in those reports. His lawyer said the albums’ sales were subject to an audit. Pollstar reported that the albums had sold more than 100 million units worldwide; that is a reported combined sales figure, not a measure of royalties owed to DeVitto.
What happened to the case
The suit was reported settled on April 21, 2010. Joel’s lawyer, Paul LiCalsi, said, “The case has been amicably resolved.” The lawyers did not disclose the terms. A settlement is not, by itself, a finding that Joel or Sony committed fraud or an admission of liability. No settlement sum can be confirmed from the cited reports.
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What DeVitto later said
In a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone Australia, DeVitto said the suit involved “internet royalties and stuff like that.” He recalled Joel telling him in a meeting with lawyers that “it was a big mistake that his accountant made.” DeVitto described the episode as a “big misunderstanding” and said he did not regret suing.
Those remarks are DeVitto’s retrospective account, not a court finding or an independently published royalty audit. They offer his explanation of the dispute but do not establish the precise accounting, the amount owed, or what the settlement provided.
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Why “30 years of royalties” is misleading
The roughly 30 years refers to DeVitto’s association with Joel’s band, from 1975 to 2005. The lawsuit, as described in contemporaneous reporting, concerned royalties connected to 11 albums recorded from 1975 through 1990. The same reporting referred to a ten-year gap in royalty accounting, not three decades of proven missed payments.
A separate case is not DeVitto’s lawsuit
A January 12, 2026 order in Roderick v. Joel et al. concerns a separate claim by Joseph Roderick Jr., who alleged that his drum performance was used on “You May Be Right.” It does not decide DeVitto’s royalty dispute. The order is available from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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Where to read DeVitto’s perspective
DeVitto’s memoir, Liberty: Life, Billy and the Pursuit of Happiness, presents his personal account of his years with Joel. His official website describes the book and his career. A memoir can add personal context, but it is not a neutral legal record of the royalty claim.
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