The nearly two year battle ends out of court

Country trio Lady A and Seattle blues singer Anita White have settled their lawsuit over the name Lady A. Court documents show the entities agreed on Monday (Jan 31st) to end the federal court battle over the country band’s name change in mid-2020. Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed and all claims were dismissed with each party covering its own attorney’s fees, costs and expenses. It’s unclear if any money was exchanged, but both are still using the name.

The GRAMMY-winning trio — featuring Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and David Haywood — dropped Antebellum from its name in June 2020 during the height of racial inequality in America, citing the term “antebellum” as a slave reference. The group, which has used both Lady Antebellum and Lady A interchangeably since its inception, has held a trademark on the name for more than a decade. Ironically, White, a black Seattle-based blues artist, has been performing and releasing music under the moniker for more than 30 years.

After negotiations fell apart in June 2020, White’s team requested a $10 million buyout for the use of the name. In return, the band filed a lawsuit in a Nashville courtroom asking for a declaration that the trio lawfully use the Lady A trademark, while White also shares the name and retaining her own rights within federal and state laws. In September 2020, White filed a lawsuit to for trademark infringement after neither party came to terms over the trio’s name change.

In an interview with White and producer, John Oliver III, on The Music Universe Podcast, the blues singer revealed that there was never clarity on how both entities would “co-exist” without White getting buried, and why she was cornered into asking for $10 million for a name buyout.

“I don’t believe in co-exisiting, at least with Lady Antebellum. I did not want to co-exist, and that’s what they wanted me to do and I didn’t want to do that. I kept asking, ‘What does co-existance look like?’. The question was never answered,” White tells us.

In her suit, White had requested $10 million for the name usage in which $5 million will go towards a complete rebranding of herself and name, and $5 million split between three charities.