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After her victory in the year-long royalties dispute with Mary Bono, Cher is asking a federal court to Oblige Sonny Bono’s widow to cover her legal fees of around one million dollars.
Request for legal fees after years of litigation
In a new request for reimbursement of legal fees, Cher and her lawyers say Mary Bono must pay the enormous costs. Because she tried to “abuse” the termination provisions of US copyright law to gain an “unjustified financial advantage” at Cher’s expense. In addition, Mary “dragged the case out for over five years by taking patently indefensible legal positions.”
The federal judge in charge, U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt, had already ruled in 2024 that Mary Bono had exceeded her authority when she tried to use copyright law to reclaim the 50 percent share of Sonny’s composition royalties that had been awarded to Cher in the 1978 divorce settlement.
Divorce agreement is over federal copyright law
The judge made it clear that California contract law, which governed the divorce, took precedence over state copyright termination rights. This decision was made final last year.
In the divorce settlement, Sonny Bono gave Cher a 50 percent share of his composition royalties for hits like “I Got You Babe” and “The Beat Goes On.” In addition, Cher received 50 percent of the duo’s joint recordings.
Accusation of secret diversion of royalties
In court documents, Cher’s lawyers said Mary began “secretly” diverting Cher’s royalties to herself and other Sonny heirs. The basis for this was termination applications under the Copyright Act, with which Mary had reversed Sonny’s previous transfers of rights to music publishers that affected other compositions he owned.
However, the court found that Cher’s share was inviolable.
Clear words in the new application
“Defendant repeatedly and carelessly argued that a federal law that expressly states that it does not affect rights under state law nevertheless extinguishes those rights,” the new motion for attorneys’ fees states. “Cher prevailed in full.”
According to the motion, Cher was forced to pay exactly $1,023,605.50 in legal fees to successfully fight off Mary Bono’s “improper termination attempt.”
Reactions from the other side and ongoing appeal
Mary Bono’s lawyers did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the new filing. However, they had previously requested that neither party be entitled to reimbursement of their legal costs.
Mary’s attorney, Daniel Schacht, told Rolling Stone: “We appreciate Judge Kronstadt’s efforts in this case, but believe he misapplied the law in terminating copyrights. It is important that creators and their heirs retain the rights that Congress intended.” Mary has since appealed Kronstadt’s decision regarding publishing rights.
Cher, Sonny Bono and the musical legacy
Cher, now 79, rose to fame in the 1960s alongside Sonny Bono before embarking on a decades-long solo career that earned her a Grammy, an Oscar and an Emmy. Sonny Bono died in a skiing accident in 1998. Mary Bono then took over the administration of his estate.
As of 2018, Sonny’s music publishing contracts were generally permitted to be terminated under the Copyright Act.
Outcome open – hearing in February
Although Cher is generally entitled to request attorney’s fees, it is unclear to what extent Judge Kronstadt will grant the request. In a previous high-profile case, he declined to award legal fees to Marvin Gaye’s estate after a jury ruled that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ “Blurred Lines” infringed the copyright of Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up.”
A hearing on Cher’s request for attorney fees is scheduled for February 23.