Cher Sues Sonny Bono's Widow for $1 Million in Attorney Fees After Win Over Royalties Dispute
Singer-songwriter Cher has filed a new motion with a federal judge to force Mary Bono, widow of late musician Sonny Bono, to pay her $1 million in attorney fees after she won the royalties dispute.
Cher and her lawyers claim that Mary tried to misuse the termination provisions of the Copyright Act to obtain a windfall at Cher's expense. The singers were tied together through their marriage, with Cher retaining 50% of Sonny's composition royalties, including hit songs like "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On".
However, in a previous ruling, US District Judge John A. Kronstadt stated that Mary stepped out of bounds by trying to use the Copyright Act to reclaim the grants Sonny made to music publishers for his other compositions.
Cher's lawyers claim that Mary used this provision to secretly divert Cher's royalties and instead channel them to herself and her own heirs. But in a previous ruling, it was found that Cher's original grant was untouchable.
Now, Cher is asking the judge to force Mary to cover the bill of $1,023,605.50 for her lawyers' fees after prevailing in their dispute over royalties. Mary had previously asked not to be held responsible for paying legal costs.
A hearing on this matter is set for February 23.
Singer-songwriter Cher has filed a new motion with a federal judge to force Mary Bono, widow of late musician Sonny Bono, to pay her $1 million in attorney fees after she won the royalties dispute.
Cher and her lawyers claim that Mary tried to misuse the termination provisions of the Copyright Act to obtain a windfall at Cher's expense. The singers were tied together through their marriage, with Cher retaining 50% of Sonny's composition royalties, including hit songs like "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On".
However, in a previous ruling, US District Judge John A. Kronstadt stated that Mary stepped out of bounds by trying to use the Copyright Act to reclaim the grants Sonny made to music publishers for his other compositions.
Cher's lawyers claim that Mary used this provision to secretly divert Cher's royalties and instead channel them to herself and her own heirs. But in a previous ruling, it was found that Cher's original grant was untouchable.
Now, Cher is asking the judge to force Mary to cover the bill of $1,023,605.50 for her lawyers' fees after prevailing in their dispute over royalties. Mary had previously asked not to be held responsible for paying legal costs.
A hearing on this matter is set for February 23.
This whole situation seems pretty messy. Cher's trying to get some clarity on what went down with her ex-husband Sonny and his widow Mary, but it sounds like there are a lot of unclear lines being drawn here. I mean, Cher won the royalties dispute, but now she's asking for a chunk of change in lawyer fees - that seems pretty steep. 
And it looks like Mary tried to get out of paying up by claiming some sort of copyright loophole... but didn't really succeed, right? It just seems like this whole thing is getting more complicated by the minute, and I'm not sure who's going to come out on top in the end 
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She just won a huge royalties dispute and now she's trying to get $1 million in lawyer fees from her ex-husband's widow Mary 
I'm low-key impressed that Cher's lawyers were able to expose all those shady moves by Mary. But $1,023,605.50? That's insane 
first of all, that $1 million in attorney fees is LITERALLY A LOT but it's so worth it cuz cher was basically robbed by her own husband sonny... I mean, can u even imagine having to give up half ur royalties just cuz u got married? 
Mary needs to get her facts straight before trying to mess with the queen of pop 
. I mean, she didn't exactly do anything wrong in the end. Cher was trying to use some shady loopholes to get more money, and now she's playing hardball over the bill 
. Both of these ladies need to get their act together and stop trying to strong-arm each other 
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. Cher seems to have some solid proof, tho, so fingers crossed she gets that money 
. I mean, if Mary thought she could just swoop in and take advantage of Cher's generosity, that'd be like someone trying to sneak into your own home and help themselves to your stuff 
. So let this be a reminder: don't be afraid to speak up for what you believe in, even if it means going against someone you know 
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now she wants mary to pay her 1 million in attorney fees which is pretty steep considering they already had a big win over this whole royalties dispute thingy
. I get that Mary thought she was sneaking away some cash, but it looks like the tables are turned now. It's wild how Sonny's widow would try to take advantage of him after he passed... I mean, Sonny's legacy is all about music and unity, not about his wife trying to swipe his royalties 
. Cher's win over Mary was a major one - 50% of those song royalties are hers for life 
. Can't wait to see what happens at that hearing on Feb 23 
. Cher's lawsuit against her ex's widow just makes me think how expensive and time-consuming it must be to navigate the whole internet justice system... like, who has that kind of money to waste on lawyer fees? 
she tried to use this provision to secretly divert cher's royalties & channel them to herself & her own heirs