Daryl Hall is suing John Oates over plan to sell stake in joint venture. A judge has paused the sale

By JONATHAN MATTISE and MARIA SHERMAN

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Daryl Hall has sued his longtime music partner John Oates, arguing that his plan to sell off his share of a joint venture would violate the terms of a business agreement the Hall & Oates duo had forged.

The move quickly prompted a judge to temporarily block the sale while legal proceedings and a previously initiated arbitration continue.

A Nashville chancery court judge issued the temporary restraining order on Nov. 16, writing that Oates and others involved in his trust can’t move to close the sale of their share of Whole Oats Enterprises LLP to Primary Wave IP Investment Management LLC until an arbitrator in a separately filed case weighs in on the deal, or until the judge’s order expires — typically within 15 days, unless a judge extends the deadline.

Chancellor Russell Perkins issued the order the same day Hall filed his lawsuit, which was largely brought forth under seal, obscuring most details. An order Wednesday by the judge allowed more filings to be made public, though many details about the pair’s business agreement and the proposed sale remain under wraps.

Writing in favor of sealing certain filings, Hall’s attorneys reasoned that it’s a private dispute under an agreement with confidential terms, concerning a confidential arbitration process.

Although the publicly released version of the lawsuit didn’t specify what’s at stake in the sale, Primary Wave has already owned “significant interest” in Hall and Oates’ song catalog for more than 15 years. In a 2021 interview with Sky News, Hall alluded to disappointment with the sale of his back catalog.

“Oh, in the early days, it got sold off for me and I didn’t get the money,” he said. In the same interview, he advised artists to retain their publishing rights, saying “all you have is that.”