SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The lead guitarist and founder of the iconic San Francisco rock band Journey sued the city Friday over a $240,000 fee to use a city landmark for his lavish wedding to a former reality television star.
Neal Schon married “Real Housewives of D.C.” star Michaele Salahi in December 2013 at the Palace of Fine Arts. For the reception, the couple rented an adjacent building that once housed the Exploratorium science museum.
Schon and his wife complain in their federal lawsuit that San Francisco officials unfairly jacked up the fee for the city’s permit six days before the wedding after learning the couple planned to broadcast the event as a pay-per-view television show. Schon called the last-minute fee hike “extortion” and unhappily paid for the permit so the wedding could proceed, according to the lawsuit.
Schon said he had initially agreed to pay the city $58,000. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s office said the fee charged was appropriate. He acknowledged that the fee increased when officials learned of the pay-per-view plan.