NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darrell Hall has filed a lawsuit against his longtime musical partner John Oates, arguing that his plan to sell his stake in a joint venture would violate the terms of an employment agreement. Hall and Oates The duo committed fraud.
The move quickly prompted a judge to temporarily block the sale while legal proceedings and arbitration that had begun previously continued.
A Nashville court judge issued a temporary restraining order on November 16, writing that Oates and others involved in his trust could not move to close the sale of their stake in Whole Oats Enterprises LLP to Primary Wave IP Investment Management LLC until an arbitrator considers a case brought separately in the transaction, or until the judge’s order expires—usually within 15 days, unless the judge extends the deadline.
Counsel Russell Perkins issued the order the same day Hall filed his lawsuit, which was largely filed under seal, redacting most details. A judge’s order on Wednesday allowed more files to be made public, although many details about the couple’s employment agreement and the proposed sale remain confidential.
Writing in favor of sealing some of the recordings, Hall’s lawyers argued that it was a private dispute under an agreement with confidentiality terms, relating to a confidential arbitration process.
Although the publicized version of the lawsuit did not specify what was at stake in the sale, Primary Wave actually had a “substantial interest” in Hall and Oates’ song catalog for more than 15 years. In a 2021 interview With Sky News, Hall cited disappointment with the sale of his back catalog.
“Oh, in the early days, it was sold to me and I didn’t get the money,” he said. In the same interview, he advised artists to retain their copyrights, saying, “All you have is this.”
The lawsuit says Hall opened arbitration on Nov. 9 against Oates and the suit’s other defendants, Oates’ wife, Amy Oates, and Richard Flynn, in their roles as co-trustees of Oates’ trust. Hall was seeking an order preventing them from selling their role in Whole Oats Enterprises to Primary Wave Music.
According to the lawsuit, Oates’ team hinted at the time that the sale could close within days, although an arbitrator had not yet been chosen to resolve the dispute.
The lawsuit says Oates’ team entered into a letter of intent with Primary Wave Music for the sale, and also claims that the letter states that the musical duo’s employment agreement was disclosed to Primary Wave Music in violation of a confidentiality clause.
“Thus, the entire unauthorized transaction is the result of an indisputable breach of contract,” the lawsuit said.
The case is scheduled to be taken up in court on November 30.
The Associated Press sent emails to attorneys for both parties and to representatives of Primary Wave Music on Friday. It remains unclear whether the dispute centers on the music catalog of Hall & Oates, the rock and pop duo best known for their No. 1 hits “Private Eyes,” “Rich Girl” and “Maneater.”
Darryl Hall and John Oates started out as students at Temple University before signing with Atlantic Records in 1972. In the decades that followed, they achieved six platinum albums and several Top 10 singles thanks to their unique style of blue-eyed soul music. Hall & Oates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 and their last album, “Home for Christmas,” was released in 2006. The duo has continued to perform as of last year.
“We have this incredibly good problem of getting a lot of hits,” Oates told the AP in 2021, before resuming a national tour that had been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Trust me, playing those songs is not a chore because they are really great.”
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Sherman reported from Copperas Cove, Texas.
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