Stone Temple Pilots

Scott Weiland says he wants millions of dollars as a fabulous parting gift from the lackeys in Stone Temple Pilots who conspired to boot him from the group.

TMZ broke the story ... STP sued Weiland, claiming he sabotaged its 20th anniversary tour by being chronically late for performances, missing promotional gigs and improperly using STP's name to promote his solo career.

Weiland has now filed a countersuit, accusing the 3 other members of secretly plotting his ouster. Weiland says it's particularly galling, rhetorically asking, "How do you expel a man from the band that he started, named, sang lead on every song, wrote the lyrics, and was the face of for twenty years?"

Weiland now wants to thwart the efforts of the remaining members to grab the STP name, asking that a judge formally dissolve the band partnership.

Weiland also wants a minimum of $7 mil in damages.

Stone Temple Pilots claims Scott Weiland screwed the band out of millions of dollars and now it's looking forward to a very important date -- in court.

The band claims Weiland sabotaged it's 20th anniversary tour by being chronically late for performances and missing promotional gigs. The band also claims in the lawsuit Weiland had a plan to seize all the glory, to the point he wouldn't even communicate with band members. They say Weiland's plan was simple -- "hijack" the tour.

The band had actually fired Weiland in February and hired the lead singer of Linkin Park to replace him, but they claim Weiland got vindictive and tried to interfere with the release of its new single.

Stone Temple Pilots is asking for unspecified damages.

12:00 PM PST -- Scott released a statement on his website, as an open letter to fans, saying:

"Like any band that's stood the test of time and made music for more than two decades, STP had a special alchemy - the four of us together were greater than any one of us apart. So if my former bandmates want to tour with a new singer, that's their prerogative."

Stone Temple Pilots LIED about firing singer Scott Weiland as a publicity stunt ... in order to hype an upcoming concert tour ... so says Weiland, who insists the band is still 100% together.

Weiland said, "STP is not broken up. It's a whole thing to try to boost ticket sales."

But the way Weiland explains it sounds like he and the rest of STP don't really communicate ... and they used the Weiland "firing" to boost ticket sales for a tour they were organizing WITHOUT him.

Which begs the question ... why is Scott so sure he's not out of the band? He says it's because there's a clause in the band's contract that forbids the members from using the name STP on another group. In other words, if Scott's out ... STP ceases to exist.

Stone Temple Pilots front man Scott Weiland says he had NO IDEA his band was planning to fire him today ... but according to Scott, it doesn't matter ... because he can't be fired from a group HE created.

Scott just released a statement in response to STP's press release this morning -- in which the band claims they "officially terminated" Weiland from the group.

Scott said, "I learned of my supposed 'termination' from Stone Temple Pilots this morning by reading about it in the press."

He added, "Not sure how I can be 'terminated' from a band that I founded, fronted, and co-wrote many of its biggest hits, but that’s something for the lawyers to figure out."

Sh*t just got real.

Stone Temple Pilots has unceremoniously FIRED its lead singer Scott Weiland ... who's been the face of the seminal rock band for more than 20 years.

The group released an ominously curt statement today, saying, "Stone Temple Pilots have announced they have officially terminated Scott Weiland." They don't give any further explanation.

It's pretty shocking for several reasons ... the main being Weiland has been a core member of the group since it came together in 1986. His voice has become synonymous with STP's sound ... on hits like "Plush," "Sour Girl," and "Sex Type Thing."

Another reason this came out of nowhere ... Weiland denied rumors he was leaving the band just yesterday, telling Rolling Stone, "STP has not broken up. I haven't quit. I haven't been fired."

Rumors of a split began a couple of months ago when Slash said STP had fired Weiland.

STP reformed in 2008 after a 5-year hiatus and toured through last year -- but apparently it hasn't been working out.

So far, it's unclear who STP has in mind to replace Weiland ... if anyone.

Weiland is set to launch a solo tour next month.

As TMZ first reported, Weiland's Miami-bound plane made an emergency landing in Dallas Friday afternoon due to the singer's condition. But once Weiland left the hospital, he went straight to Miami to play his gig.

Scott grabbed the mic at Mansion in Miami -- and we're told he cranked out STP and Velvet Revolver classics for more than an hour.

Sources close to Scott tell us he suffered the seizure while flying from Los Angeles to Miami. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

After the 41-year-old singer showed up to an event in West Hollywood Wednesday night sans a chunk of his cheek -- everyone was looking for some kind of explanation ... and finally, we got it.

TMZ spoke with Weiland's rep, who blamed Scott's facial damage on his inability to catch a football.

The rep says Scott -- who's a huge Notre Dame fan -- was tailgating at the game last weekend and throwing the pigskin around with a couple of buddies ... when he accidentally caught one with his face.

Scott Weiland was released from jail at 6:54 PM last night after serving only 10 hours out of his 192-hour sentence. His rehab stints last longer!

Weiland turned himself in at 8:55 AM yesterday, was officially booked at just after noon, and then assigned a housing location at 6:41 PM. But that wasn't quite necessary, since he was released just 13 minutes later.

Rock star Scott Weiland has just been sentenced to 192 hours in county jail for his November DUI arrest. This is Weiland's second DUI offense. He has until May 28 to serve the sentence.

Scott, who was not present in court today, entered a no contest plea through his attorney, Anthony Brooklier. The former Velvet Revolver singer was also ordered to complete an 18-month alcohol program and pay almost $2,000 in fines. He will be put on a four-year summary probation.

Weiland was charged with one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol with a prior conviction, and with an allegation that he refused a chemical test as required by law. We are told he was over the legal limit of .08%, but not by much.

TMZ was in an L.A. County Courthouse this morning as Scott Weiland's attorney told us the troubled rocker has just finished a stint in rehab.

Weiland's attorney, Tony Brooklier, says the former STP-er has completed 28 days in a treatment facility and is "doing well."

Weiland was arrested last November and booked for driving under the influence of a drug.

Scott Weiland has been charged with driving under the influence of drugs with a prior conviction, and with an allegation that he refused a chemical test as required by law.

In a statement from Los Angeles City Attorney spokesperson Frank Mateljan, Scott faces "maximum penalty of one year county jail and a $1000 fine, and a minimum penalty eight days in jail (because of the prior conviction and the refusal to take a drug test). His car could also be impounded for up to 30 days. "

He will be arraigned tomorrow in a Los Angeles County court.

On November 21, the Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver singer was arrested, when he crashed his car while driving on an L.A. highway.

TMZ has learned that rocker Scott Weiland has been arrested, again, for DUI. Shocker, we know.

The Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver singer was driving on an L.A. highway around 6:15 PM on November 21 when he crashed his car. While the California Highway Patrol was investigating the non-injury wreck, they noticed Weiland appeared to be impaired. (Um ... ya think?) According to the police report, Weiland failed sobriety tests and refused to take a blood or urine test. He was booked for "driving under the influence of a drug. "