Blake Brittain
Reuters
Blake Brittain wrote this article in Reuters:
A country songwriter who said the Mariah Carey hit "All I Want for Christmas Is You" ripped off his own song of the same name is ending his lawsuit against the superstar singer, according to a Tuesday filing in New Orleans federal court.
Plaintiff Andy Stone told the court he would dismiss the case without prejudice, which means it could be refiled. Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Stone, who performs as Vince Vance with the country-pop band Vince Vance & the Valiants, sued Carey and her label Sony Music Entertainment in June. He said his own "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was first released in 1989 and received "extensive airplay" during the 1993 Christmas season.
An amended version of the complaint called Carey's song a "derivative version" of Stone's "in terms of the lyrics, melody, harmonic language, rhythm, and meter."
Carey's song appeared on her 1994 album "Merry Christmas" and has since become a popular Christmas standard, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the holiday season every year since 2019.
Stone asked the court for $60 million in damages for copyright infringement, false association and unjust enrichment.
Carey and Sony Music have not responded to the claims in court.
The case is Stone v Carey et al, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, No. 2:22-cv-01616.
For Stone: Douglas Schmidt of Douglas M. Schmidt APLC; Andrew Abrams of O'Bryon & Schnabel
For Carey and Sony: Lindsay Samuel of Davis Wright Tremaine
A country songwriter who said the Mariah Carey hit "All I Want for Christmas Is You" ripped off his own song of the same name is ending his lawsuit against the superstar singer, according to a Tuesday filing in New Orleans federal court.
Plaintiff Andy Stone told the court he would dismiss the case without prejudice, which means it could be refiled. Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Stone, who performs as Vince Vance with the country-pop band Vince Vance & the Valiants, sued Carey and her label Sony Music Entertainment in June. He said his own "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was first released in 1989 and received "extensive airplay" during the 1993 Christmas season.
An amended version of the complaint called Carey's song a "derivative version" of Stone's "in terms of the lyrics, melody, harmonic language, rhythm, and meter."
Carey's song appeared on her 1994 album "Merry Christmas" and has since become a popular Christmas standard, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the holiday season every year since 2019.
Stone asked the court for $60 million in damages for copyright infringement, false association and unjust enrichment.
Carey and Sony Music have not responded to the claims in court.
The case is Stone v Carey et al, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, No. 2:22-cv-01616.
For Stone: Douglas Schmidt of Douglas M. Schmidt APLC; Andrew Abrams of O'Bryon & Schnabel
For Carey and Sony: Lindsay Samuel of Davis Wright Tremaine
