A US federal judge has ruled that Mariah Carey did not steal All I Want For Christmas Is You from other songwriters, dismissing a $20 million (€18.5m) lawsuit against her.
Judge Monica Ramirez Almadani in Los Angeles granted Carey and her co-writer, Walter Afanasieff, summary judgment, meaning the case was decided without going to trial.
The lawsuit was filed in 2023 by songwriters Andy Stone, known as Vince Vance, and Troy Powers. They alleged that Carey's 1994 festive classic copied their 1989 country song of the same name. Their track once reached No. 31 on the Billboard's Hot County chart in the US.
Their lawyer, Gerard P. Fox, expressed disappointment at the ruling. "Judges at this level nearly always now dismiss a music copyright case, and... one must appeal to the reverse and get the case to the jury," he said, adding that his client would soon decide whether to appeal.
Stone and Powers argued that their song featured a "unique linguistic structure" in which the singer, unimpressed by material gifts, writes a letter to Santa wishing to be with their loved one. They claimed there was an "overwhelming likelihood" that Carey and Afanasieff had heard their song and copied it.
However, Judge Ramirez Almadani sided with the defence's expert witness, who stated that both songs used common Christmas themes in different ways. She ruled that the plaintiffs failed to prove substantial similarity between tracks.
Furthermore, she sanctioned the plaintiffs and their legal team, calling their lawsuit "frivolous" and noting that they did not make a reasonable effort to support their claims. They were ordered to cover at least part of Carey's legal costs.
Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You has only grown in popularity since its release, topping charts around the world every December.
Carey and Afanasieff have had their own public disagreement - though not one that has gone to court - over who wrote how much of the song, but the case made them at least temporary allies.
Source: Press Association
