Daryl Hall and the Daryl Hall Revocable Trust took to the Nashville Chancery court to file a sealed complaint against John Oates and two co-trustees of The John W. Oates TISA Trust last week. This legal action came as a shock seeing that both ex-bandmates performed as a duo severally in 2022.
Hall followed up the lawsuit with a motion for a temporary restraining order from his legal team, which he was granted the next day after a $50,000 restraining bond. Oates and his co-trustees— Aimee Oates and Richard Flynn, received the summons, with an out-of-state attorney joining the case per a pro hac vice motion.
Any hopes for a new album?
Although they made appearances together last year, Hall told the Los Angeles Times that he has “no idea” if they will unite for a new album. “I don’t have any plans to work with John. I mean, whatever. Time will tell,” the “Rich Girl” co-artist said. He also noted that being a duo was “annoying” because fans always compared both parties, which he hated. “Whatever the mystique is, I don’t like it,” he said.
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Hall also talked about his relationship with Oates in a September episode of the Club Random With Bill Maher podcast last year, admitting they are more of “business partners” than a creative pair. “You think John Oates is my partner?” he asked. “John and I are brothers, but we are not creative brothers. We made records called Hall & Oates together, but we’ve always been very separate, and that’s a really important thing for me.”
Behind the lawsuit
Amidst the ongoing legal battle between both parties, Hall was spotted at the Tokyo Garden Center in Japan performing Hall and Oates classics like “Out of Touch,” “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” and “Private Eyes.” There has been some privacy on the reason for Hall’s move against his partner; however, the sealed legal documents reveal the suit to be contract or debt-related.
Reports from TMZ say the issue pertains to “the ground rules of who can sing what as a solo artist, along with money issues, of course.” Both icons have insinuated tensions between them in the past; Oates called it a miracle that they got along in 2021, with Hall saying the following year that they were now in their own separate worlds. “Life changed, everything changed,” Hall stated. “I’m more interested in pursuing my own world. And so is John.”