in 1998, guitarist and primary songwriter degarmo left the band for personal reasons, returning briefly in 2003 to write and record the tribe album. over the years, his replacements have been kelly gray, mike stone, and parker lundgren. following a highly publicized backstage altercation before a show in são paulo, brazil, in april 2012, tate was fired from the band and replaced with then-crimson glory singer todd la torre. in response to his dismissal, tate and his wife susan (who served as the band's manager from 2005 to 2012) filed a lawsuit in a washington court, claiming that he was wrongfully terminated. the ruling in the preliminary injunction was that both parties were allowed to use the name queensrÿche until a court ruling or a settlement decided who would get to use the name. a settlement was reached on april 17, 2014, in which founding members wilton, rockenfield and jackson were awarded the rights to the band trademark, continuing to play with the lineup that additionally includes singer la torre and guitarist lundgren.