APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS BAN ON LYNYRD SKYNYRD FILM

A New York federal appeals court says a new Lynyrd Skynyrd film can be released despite a dispute over the band’s intentions. The case involves a movie called Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash. A lower court judge decided previously the film violated a “blood oath” made by band members not to exploit the group’s name after a 1977 plane crash that killed its lead singer and songwriter, Ronnie Van Zant. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision Wednesday, letting the movie be distributed. A lawyer for the movie’s makers called the ruling “a victory for filmmakers, artists, journalists, readers, viewers and the marketplace of ideas.” The lawsuit was brought by Van Zant’s widow and others, including founding band member Allen Collins.