In 2023, Daryl Hall sued his Hall and Oates bandmate, John Oates, alleging that Oates was attempting to sell his share of their joint venture Whole Oats Enterprises LLP. Now, the musicians have resolved their dispute via private arbitration, The Associated Press reports.
Details about the arbitration are not currently available, but online records indicate that the case was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice today, at the request of Hall. Lawyers for Daryl Hall and John Oates did not respond to Pitchfork’s requests for comment.
Hall filed his complaint against John Oates in Nashville’s chancery court in November of 2023. Aimee J. Oates and Richard Flynn were also named in the filing, labeled as co-trustees of the John W. Oates TISA Trust. Hall accused Oates and his co-trustees of attempting to sell their share of Whole Oats Enterprises LLP to Primary Wave IP Investment Management LLC—a music publishing company that owned a “significant interest” in Hall and Oates’ music catalog for 15 years. Hall alleged that the sale would violate his business agreement with Oates.
Shortly after Hall filed his lawsuit, court filings outlining a massive rift between the hitmakers surfaced; Hall accused Oates of “ultimate partnership betrayal,” while Oates referred to Hall’s allegations as “inflammatory, outlandish, and inaccurate.”