Mariah Carey Gets $92,000 Refund After Beating ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ Lawsuit

Mariah Carey has secured a $92,000 refund in legal fees following the dismissal of a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement of her song “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” A federal judge ruled against songwriter Vince Vance, finding that the two songs shared only common holiday themes. The court also sanctioned Vance’s attorney, Gerard Fox, for bringing “frivolous” arguments and ordered him to cover Carey’s legal expenses.

Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani ordered Fox to pay $92,000 for the 154 hours of work by Carey’s legal team, as well as additional fees for Sony Music, Kobalt, and Carey’s co-writer Walter Afanasieff. While the total award of $110,000 was less than the $186,000 requested, the judge justified the amount as proportional to the need for deterring similar frivolous lawsuits in the future.

This ruling concludes the litigation surrounding the 1994 hit song, which has experienced a surge in popularity over the last decade, consistently reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the holiday season. As of December 22nd, the song achieved a record-extending 21st week at the top of the chart and became the longest-charted title ever by a female artist.

(Source：Billboard)