Daryl Hall and John Oates have privately resolved the legal dispute involving the very public breakdown in their business partnership, court filings confirm.
“The claims have been adjudicated in arbitration. Given the entry of final judgment in arbitration, plaintiffs will be contemporaneously filing a notice of voluntary dismissal with the court,” lawyers for Hall wrote in a status report filed Monday in Nashville court and obtained by Rolling Stone. The filing did not say when the arbitration outcome was finalized or reveal any details.
The status update was the first filing by either party since one of the most successful pop duos of all time burst into the headlines in 2023 with their acrimonious split. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artists known for their massive Eighties hits “Maneater,” “Private Eyes,” “Kiss on My List,” and “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” were no longer on speaking terms as they fought over Oates’ right to sell his half of their business partnerhip to Primary Wave, court filings revealed.
In a November 2023 declaration to the court, Hall accused Oates of committing the “ultimate partnership betrayal.” He claimed Oates went behind his back, negotiated with Primary Wave in secret, and then “ambushed” him with news he intended to sell his half of their Whole Oats Enterprises partnership, known as WOE, to the music publishing company as Hall was preparing to leave on a tour.
In his declaration, Hall said he didn’t “agree” with Primary Wave’s business model and believed such a sale could cause “unimaginable” harm to WOE’s assets, which include the music duo’s trademarks, personal name and likeness rights, record royalty income, and social media and website properties.
“Over the course of the last several years, there has been a significant shift in John Oates’ behavior away from operating in a professional and business-minded manner, particularly as it relates to WOE. His behavior has become adversarial and aggressive instead of professional and courteous,” Hall wrote. “It appears to me that John Oates’ intent has become to burden and harass me without regard to my interests as his business partner, or the interests of WOE.”
Lawyers for Hall and Oates did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
In the 2023 filings previously obtained by Rolling Stone, Hall claimed that he was “deeply troubled” that Oates entered into an agreement with Primary Wave in what he called a breach of their partnership agreement. He claimed Oates was required to get his written approval. “I was blindsided,” Hall wrote. “I have no intention of becoming partners with Primary Wave, and the Oates Trust cannot be permitted to thrust a new partner upon me in this outrageous fashion.”
In a dueling declaration filed at the same time, Oates said he was “tremendously disappointed” that Hall chose to make such “inflammatory, outlandish, and inaccurate statements about me.” He said their dispute was already part of a private mediation and private arbitration, and Hall was the one causing harm.
“I have no idea who or what is motivating Daryl to take these steps and make such salacious statements, but I am deeply hurt,” Oates wrote. He said over the last 50 years, he has devoted himself to ensuring that fans and the music industry “perceive the Hall & Oates music and brand in the most positive light.”
The judge paused the sale of Oates’ stake pending the completion of the arbitration process. The status report was filed on Monday after the court asked for an update.
Oates declined to discuss details of the legal battle when he spoke with Rolling Stone last year about his new solo LP Reunion. But he said his focus shifted in recent years, and that involved a move away from Hall & Oates.
“I’ll tell you what changed,” he says. “During the pandemic, there were no more private planes. There were no more arena shows or even acoustic shows. It gave me a chance to step back. I had a chance to reevaluate things. My wife and I decided it was time to give back. We started the Oates Song Fest for Feeding America, and we fed 350,000 families with that. And then I was asked to do Movember, which was a men’s health movement. I just got out of the mode of getting back on stage with the big band and the big production.”
Asked if there was an official end date that should be added to the Hall & Oates Wikipedia page, he declined to speak for Hall. “But, yes. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve moved on. I feel like I have a new lease on my creative life,” he says.
“A good friend of mine said something to me when this was all starting. He said, ‘John, you were a musician before you met Daryl, and you’re still a musician. You’re an individual.’ And Daryl and I have always called ourselves Daryl Hall and John Oates, because we always wanted to be perceived as two individuals who work together. That was very important to us. If you look at the albums, you’ll see that on every album. And so this is the ultimate expression of that.”
When The Times of London asked Hall earlier this year if the ship had “sailed” on the two men mending their differences, he replied, “That ship has gone to the bottom of the ocean.”