Daryl Hall’s Legal Action Against John Oates: A Restraining Order Explained

The enigma surrounding Daryl Hall’s decision to secure a restraining order against John Oates has been partially unraveled, as a portion of the case has been made public by a Tennessee judge who had previously mandated that all details remain confidential. It has now come to light that Hall is trying to prevent his long-term musical associate from selling his stake in their shared venture to Primary Wave Music.

On Friday afternoon, the Associated Press was the first to disclose the actual rationale behind the restraining order, after the judge discreetly unsealed some parts of the case two days prior, on the eve of Thanksgiving.

As per the AP report, Hall is opposed to Oates’ intention to sell his portion of the duo’s Whole Oats Enterprises to the investment firm, which had already acquired a “significant” interest in their catalog rights 16 years ago. Hall has expressed regret over not owning all his publishing.

Chancellor Russell Perkins concurred to temporarily prevent Oates from executing the sale, in response to Hall’s lawyers’ assertion that such action seemed imminent, given that Oates’ team had signed a letter of intent with Primary Wave.

The subsequent court hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 30. This session will take place well before the current restraining order is likely to expire.

According to the AP report, Hall’s team states in the recently unsealed portion of the lawsuit that Oates’ team allowed Primary Wave to view the duo’s joint business agreement, which was supposed to have remained confidential. Consequently, “the entire Unauthorized Transaction is the product of an indisputable breach of contract,” Hall’s lawyers argue.

Hall initiated arbitration between the two singers’ teams on Nov. 9, but he still believed that Oates would immediately go ahead with the sale to Primary Wave, as indicated by the request for a restraining order. The lawsuit stated that an arbitrator had not even been selected yet.

Some parts of the lawsuit are still sealed, with the judge seemingly agreeing with Hall’s lawyers that it contains information that falls under the confidentiality agreement they allege Oates violated in his dealings with Primary Wave.

Neither Hall’s nor Oates’ representatives have responded to requests for comment since the restraining order became public knowledge. Variety has sought comment from Primary Wave, whose office is closed for the holiday weekend.

Back in February 2007, Primary Wave announced that it had acquired a “significant interest in the song catalog of Daryl Hall & John Oates.” The New York Post estimated the sale of a rumored half-interest in the catalog to Primary Wave at between $25-50 million for the duo. Shortly thereafter, the company also purchased the copyrights for about 70 songs penned by sisters Sara and Janna Allen, including their share of Hall and Oates hits like “Maneater,” “You Make My Dreams” and “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do).”

At that time, 16 years ago, Hall was quoted in the Post as stating he had been keen to sell to Primary Wave after being dissatisfied with their previous publishing company. “I didn’t feel my catalog was being addressed properly by BMG,” Hall told the Post in 2007. “Most publishing companies are administrative rather than creative in nature. Larry (Mestel, the founder-CEO of Primary Wave has) got a lot of creative ideas about what to do with my material.”

In a 2021 interview with Sky News, Hall expressed regret over having sold his publishing, although he referred to “the early days,” so it wasn’t entirely clear whether he was talking about BMG, Primary Wave or another deal.

“Oh, in the early days, it got sold off for me and I didn’t get the money,” Hall said in the two-year-old interview. “I have a bit of my publishing, but a lot of bad business was done in the early days – I’m a real rock and roll story when it comes to that kind of thing. Never sell your publishing — maybe if you’re, you know, 80 years old"