Daryl Hall and John Oates’ business legal wrangle has been resolved out of court.
Daryl Hall and John Oates have come to a resolution over their long-standing legal dispute.
The 78-year-old singer sued his former Hall + Oates musical partner in 2023 to stop him from selling his stake in their publishing company, Whole Oats Enterprises – a move he branded “the ultimate partnership betrayal”.
And, in a status report filed Monday (12.08.25) in Nashville court, it was confirmed that the pair have resolved their issues privately.
Hall’s lawyers said in the document obtained by Rolling Stone: “The claims have been adjudicated in arbitration. Given the entry of final judgment in arbitration, plaintiffs will be contemporaneously filing a notice of voluntary dismissal with the court.”
Oates, 77, was left “deeply hurt” by Hall’s “salacious statements” and was adamant he was just trying to do what it best for himself and his family.
In a first-person declaration to the court in 2023, Oates wrote: “Far from becoming ‘adversarial and aggressive instead of professional and courteous,’ as Daryl has claimed, over the last 50 years I have always devoted my energy to ensuring that both the public and the music industry perceive the Hall Oates music and brand in the most positive light.”
Although he and Hall have “not seen eye to eye”, he insisted he tried “to present opportunities to improve and protect the business and artistic integrity of the partnership.”
He added: “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.
“[Just as Daryl has] consistently and publicly been adamant about being perceived as an individual rather than as part of a duo or group, I now must act with truthfulness and make decisions that are right for myself, my family, and my artistic future.”
Oates maintained he hadn’t breached any agreement, acted in bad faith or gone behind his bandmate’s back.
In his own declaration, Hall claimed he had been “ambushed” by Oates and his plans for the sale.
He said: “This recent bad faith conduct by John Oates and the Oates Trust has created tremendous upheaval, harm, and difficulty in my life, not to mention unnecessary expense and burden, during a time when I am in the middle of a tour throughout the U.S. West Coast, Japan, and Manilla and need to focus and perform at top level.
“I believe that John Oates timed the Unauthorized Transaction to create the most harm to me. Respectfully, he must be stopped from this latest wrongdoing and his malicious conduct reined in once and for all.”
In earlier documents, Hall argued Oates selling his share of the business would be a violation of an agreement they made in October 2021 over WOE.
He subsequently initiated an arbitration process to prevent his bandmate from transferring all of his right, title and interest in the company to Primary Wave Music – who have owned a significant interest in the duo’s song catalogue for over 15 years – without his consent.
Hall sought a restraining order against Oates in order to close the Primary Wave transaction and “maintain the status quo of WOE before there is a change in control of the partnership in violation of the terms of the Agreement.”
