Mariah Carey has been awarded nearly $100,000 in legal fees in a dismissed copyright case

Mariah Carey has scored a legal victory just in time for the holidays after a federal judge ordered attorneys representing a country musician to pay her more than $92,000 in legal fees related to a dismissed copyright case.

According to court records assessed Through Rolling stoneCarey was awarded $92,300 in attorneys’ fees after the failure of a lawsuit filed by Andy Stone — who performs under the name Vince Vance — alleging that Carey’s holiday hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” copied a song of the same title released by his band in 1988. The case, filed in November 2023, sought $20 million in damages and was dismissed in March.

U.S. District Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani ruled that Stone and co-writer Troy Powers failed to present credible evidence showing copyright infringement. In her ruling, Almadani sharply criticized the conduct of Stone’s legal team, calling their actions collectively “egregious.”

“While each incident of criminal conduct alone may not warrant more than a severe reprimand,” the judge wrote, “it is the totality of misconduct manifested in plaintiffs’ motion that makes this an egregious situation warranting more severe sanctions.”

The court found that Carey and her co-defendants – including Sony Music, Kobalt Publishing and producer Walter Afanasieff – were forced to incur unnecessary legal fees in response to what the judge described as baseless claims and unsupported arguments. In total, the sanctions amount to $109,983, with Sony receiving more than $14,000 and additional amounts awarded to Kobalt and Afanasieff.

In a separate filing, Judge Almadani expressed concern about the treatment of co-plaintiff Powers, noting that recent comments from Stone’s attorneys did not refer to him at all. Defense attorney Gerard Fox told the court he had “no longer had contact” with Powers, a statement the judge said did not absolve counsel of their professional responsibilities.

“Until leave to withdraw is granted, Fox and Schmidt continue to have a professional obligation to best represent Powers’ interests,” Almadani wrote, adding that it “does not appear as if plaintiffs’ counsel have fulfilled their ethical obligation to Powers.”

Fox and co-counsel Douglas M. Schmidt were ordered Jan. 5 to explain why their failure to comply with California Rules of Professional Conduct and local court rules should not result in disciplinary action. The judge warned that failure to respond could lead to additional penalties.

Carey has long denied any wrongdoing, and the ruling decisively ends a case that challenged one of the most commercially successful holiday songs in music history.

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