1986 ASAT ad- “The Real One” headline

1986 ASAT ad: “The Real One” headline combined with the Leo Fender signature decal really ticked off FMIC management of the time. Two weeks after Leo passed away in 1991 the lawsuit against G&L (the Estate of Leo Fender) was filed. His wife Phyllis had just lost her husband and immediately faced another crushing blow.
However, Leo had a feeling something might happen once he’s gone, so he had an insurance policy to pay for legal expenses in case Phyllis/G&L got sued. With my dad helping sort it out, and the lawyers paid by the insurance, tables turned. The whole thing ended when Mike Yamano of Yamano Music in Japan, invester in Fender to make the buyout from CBS possible, called my father to ask him to please stop the legal fight. Fender had already spent $500,000 on it.
Maybe it would be fun to do a video on the details. My brother John remembers it all vividly. The name, likeness and signature of Leo Fender remain property of G&L, so legally, Leo never left us.