John Oates Responds to Daryl Hall’s Lawsuit Against Him

John Oates has responded to Daryl Hall’s lawsuit against him, which alleges he secretly attempted to sell his half of their Hall and Oates enterprise. TMZ reports that Hall filed a legal response in Tennessee courts, saying that he is “tremendously disappointed that Daryl Hall decided to file his declaration from our private arbitration in this proceeding and make inflammatory, outlandish, and inaccurate statements about me.”

“I am disappointed that he decided to publicize issues that are the subject of our private mediation and private arbitration,” Oates added. “Far from becoming ‘adversarial and aggressive instead of professional and
courteous,’ as Daryl has claimed, over the last fifty years I have always devoted my energy to ensuring that both the public and the music industry perceive the Hall & Oates music.” The filing comes after Hall filed a lawsuit against Oates for allegedly trying to share his portion of “Whole Oats Enterprises,” the company they formed together in order to maintain control of some of the group’s assets.

Hall claims that he was ambushed by Oates, who allegedly sought out a buyer whom Hall does not want to sell to. Hall had been given a temporary restraining order that halted the sale, until a judge can determine whether or not Oates was in the right to make a deal. Notably, In his new legal declaration, Oates says, “Daryl has consistently and publicly been adamant about being perceived as an individual rather than as part of a duo or group.”

“In fact, Daryl has become unwilling to work with me to try to protect the marks and other intellectual property that we spent decades building,” Oates adds, per Ultimate Classic Rock. He later says he’s “very aware of the importance and reverence that our fans and the world have for the music that Daryl and I have made together. That is why I have been working hard to protect the value of our intellectual property – to allow music lovers around the world to continue to enjoy the music of Hall & Oates.”

Hal and Oates first met in the late ’60s while playing in separate bands, and later went on to form their chart-topping act, Hall & Oates, in 1970. Throughout the years, they had a number of big hit tunes, such as “Rich Girl” (1977), “Kiss on My List” (1980), “Private Eyes” (1981), and “Maneater” (1982).  Together, they wrote and recorded 18 studio albums, with the last being the holiday album Home for Christmas in 2006.