Hall & Oates are wrangled in a legal battle that’s set to go to arbitration

A Nashville judge has temporarily sided with Daryl Hall by blocking business partner John Oates from selling the rest of his shares of the Hall & Oates catalog. Last week, Hall filed a “contract/debt” dispute against Oates in Nashville Chancery Court which included a motion for a temporary restraining order that was granted the next day. The same judge, Chancellor Russell Perkins, has extended the restraining order to allow Hall to plead his case in private arbitration.

“If the transfer goes forward before the arbitrator has an opportunity to consider and rule upon plaintiffs’ application for interim injunctive relief in the arbitration, then it could, as a practical matter, render much of the relief Plaintiffs are seeking in the arbitration ineffectual,” Billboard reports.

Oates is barred from selling his catalog shares to Primary Wave Music, a company that has owned “significant interest” in the duo’s catalog for more than 15 years, until February 2024 or until an arbitrator imposes a similar restraining order.

The judge decided in favor of Hall after his attorney stated it would be “most efficient” to delay the sale until an arbitrator was involved. Oates’ attorney argued that Hall was “not entitled to any relief at all.”

An arbitrator has been decided, but no date has been set for the next hearing.

In his petition, Hall claims he was “blindsided” by the sale and it would cause him “imminent irreparable harm,” according to People. Hall also claims the sale would violate the terms of the business agreement the duo signed as “the entire Unauthorized Transaction is the product of an indisputable breach of contract.” The suit claims that Oates’ team violated the music duo’s confidential business agreement by disclosing it to Primary Wave Music after entering a “letter of intent” with the music publishing investment firm that Hall is against owning the remainder of the group’s extensive catalog.

Oates fired back with his own legal docs, obtained by TMZ, claiming, “I am tremendously disappointed that Daryl Hall decided to file his declaration from our private arbitration in this proceeding and make inflammatory, outlandish, and inaccurate statements about me,” Oates says. “I am disappointed that he decided to publicize issues that are the subject of our private mediation and private arbitration.”

The duo’s collection of No. 1 singles include “Rich Girl” (also No. 1 R&B charts), “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” (No. 1 R&B), “Maneater” and “Out of Touch.” Their Top 10 singles include “She’s Gone” (No. 1 R&B), “Sara Smile,” “One on One,” “You Make My Dreams,” “Say it Isn’t So,” “Everything Your Heart Desires,” “Family Man,” “Adult Education,” “Did It In A Minute” and “Method of Modern Love.” In 1987, the RIAA recognized Daryl Hall & John Oates as the No. 1 selling duo in music history, a record they hold to this day.