On March 3, 2020, Schon and Cain announced that they had fired Smith

On March 3, 2020, Schon and Cain announced that they had fired Smith and Valory and were suing them for an alleged “attempted corporate coup d’état, ” seeking damages in excess of $10 million. The lawsuit alleged Smith and Valory tried to “assume control of Nightmare Productions because they incorrectly believe that Nightmare Productions controls the Journey name and mark” to “hold the Journey name hostage and set themselves up with a guaranteed income stream after they stop performing.” Valory and Smith contested the firings, with the support of Perry and former manager Herbie Herbert. Court filings revealed that Perry had been paid as a member of the band for years despite not performing. In an open letter dated that same day, Schon and Cain stated Smith and Valory “are no longer members of Journey, and that Schon and Cain have lost confidence in both of them and are not willing to perform with them again.” Valory countersued Schon and Cain, among other things, for their partnership’s claim of owning the Journey trademark and service mark (collectively known as the mark), when that partnership, Elmo Partners, was only the licensee of the mark from 1985 to 1994, when the license was terminated by Herbie Herbert of Nightmare Productions, owners of the mark and name. Valory also sought protection against Schon from using any similarities of the Journey mark and name for his side project, Neal Schon – Journey Through Time. On April 1, 2021, it was announced that an amicable settlement had been reached between Schon/Cain and Valory/Smith. In May, Schon and Cain announced that bassist Randy Jackson would once again join the band, replacing Valory, and drummer Narada Michael Walden was announced as an official new member of Journey, replacing Smith.