Daryl Hall Issues Restraining Order Against John Oates In Legal Battle

Things have gotten messy between musical duo Hall & Oates, with Daryl Hall recently suing his former bandmate John Oates in Nashville Chancery Court. Hall was then granted a temporary restraining order against Oates, with no time limit on the order revealed in reports.

According to a recent Philadelphia Magazine report, Hall filed a lawsuit against Oates last week (16 November), but the documents are currently under seal. The dispute reportedly concerns the pair’s separate business trusts, with Hall’s Revocable Trust suing The John W. Oates TISA Trust and its co-trustee, John Oates’ wife, Aimee Oates.

While there isn’t much public information about the case out there, The Hollywood Reporter states that the Nashville Chancery Court has labelled the dispute “contract/debt”.

According to a TMZ report, Hall and Oates are “in arbitration over some dispute” the publication claims could concern “division of royalties, or it could be over Oates singing their songs in solo acts.”

The duo have never technically broken up – touring together as recently as last year – but Daryl Hall has made allegations about potential issues with John Oates in the media.

“You think John Oates is my partner? … He’s my business partner. He’s not my creative partner,” Hall said in an interview with Bill Maher last year.

Hall continued, “John and I are brothers, but we are not creative brothers. We are business partners. We made records called Hall & Oates together, but we’ve always been very separate, and that’s a really important thing for me.”

Referencing the pair’s #1 single Kiss On My List, Hall added, “I did all those [harmonies]. That’s all me.”

Throughout their career, Hall & Oates have become one of the most successful music duos of all time, releasing 21 albums that sold over 80 million units worldwide.

In 2014, Daryl Hall and John Oates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016. Before then, the pair were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003. Their 1982 album, H2O, saw Hall & Oates land at #3 on the ARIA Albums Chart, with the single Maneater peaking at #4 on the Singles Chart.

Despite the massive single Out of Touch on 1984’s Big Bam Boom, the album landed at #20 in Australia.