Mariah Carey has been sued repeatedly over the years, most often by songwriters claiming she copied their work. She has won or favorably settled nearly every case. The highest-profile Mariah Carey lawsuit in recent memory, a $20 million copyright claim over “All I Want for Christmas Is You” filed by country singer Andy Stone, was dismissed in March 2025, and by December of that year the court had ordered Stone’s attorneys to pay almost $110,000 in sanctions.
The $20 Million “All I Want for Christmas Is You” Case
Andy Stone, who performs as Vince Vance, released a country song with the same title in 1989. It reached No. 31 on Billboard’s Hot Country chart. Carey’s version came out on her Merry Christmas album in 1994 and went on to become one of the best-selling holiday songs ever recorded.
Stone first sued in Louisiana in June 2022, seeking $20 million and claiming Carey’s track was a “derivative” of his. He withdrew that case in November 2022 without a settlement.1Variety. Mariah Carey Wins All I Want for Christmas Is You Lawsuit
He refiled on November 1, 2023, this time in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, adding co-writer Troy Powers as a plaintiff and naming Carey, co-writer Walter Afanasieff, Sony Music, Kobalt Music Publishing, and Universal Music Corp. as defendants.2CourtListener. Andy Stone v. Mariah Carey, Case No. 2:23-cv-09216 The complaint alleged copying of lyrics, melody, chord progression, and structure, and said there was an “overwhelming likelihood” Carey had heard the earlier song.3ABC News Australia. Judge Rules Mariah Carey Did Not Steal All I Want for Christmas
Dismissal
On March 19, 2025, Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani granted Carey’s motion for summary judgment. The court threw out the plaintiffs’ expert report from Professor Robert Fink as “deficient on its face,” noting it ran only six paragraphs, included no exhibits, and skipped a full melodic-harmonic comparison. Fink acknowledged in his deposition that he had not prepared a complete analysis because he “wasn’t asked to do so.”4SAN. Andy Stone v. Mariah Carey Lawsuit Ruling
Carey’s musicologist, Lawrence Ferrara, found no significant structural, harmonic, rhythmic, or melodic similarities between the two songs. A literary expert for the defense identified at least 12 works released before 1989 that used the phrase “all I want for Christmas is you” or close variations. Judge Almadani concluded that the songs shared only “a common lyrical idea and Christmas song clichés that were in common use” long before either was written.5The Guardian. Mariah Carey All I Want for Christmas Is You
Sanctions Against Stone’s Attorneys
Judge Almadani called the conduct of Stone’s lawyers, Gerard Fox and Douglas M. Schmidt, “egregious,” finding they had caused “unnecessary delay” and had forced the defendants to spend money responding to “frivolous legal arguments and unsupported factual contentions.”6KOMO News. $20 Million Christmas Lawsuit Against Mariah Carey Dismissed
On December 23, 2025, the court ordered Fox and Schmidt to pay $109,983 in sanctions: $92,303 to Carey, with the balance split among Sony Music, Kobalt Publishing, and Afanasieff.7People. Mariah Carey Awarded $92K Legal Fees After All I Want for Christmas Suit Dismissal The judge also flagged apparent lapses in the attorneys’ ethical duties to co-plaintiff Troy Powers and gave them until January 5, 2026, to explain why their conduct should not result in further discipline.8Rolling Stone. Mariah Carey Awarded in All I Want for Christmas Lawsuit The case was formally terminated the same day. No appeal has been filed as of the most recent docket entry.2CourtListener. Andy Stone v. Mariah Carey, Case No. 2:23-cv-09216
Earlier Copyright Suits Over “Hero” and “Thank God I Found You”
The Vince Vance case is part of a longer pattern. Three earlier suits targeted Carey’s compositions, with mixed outcomes.
Selletti v. Carey
Christopher Selletti, an amateur songwriter who had worked as a bodyguard for musician Sly Stone, sued Carey in January 1996 over her 1993 hit “Hero,” claiming it was based on a poem he had written in 1989. Judge Denny Chin of the Southern District of New York found that Selletti never alleged any link between Carey and anyone who had seen his poem, and produced no evidence of access or substantial similarity beyond speculation. The court described the case as a possible “strike suit” against a wealthy defendant, imposed a $5,000 sanction on Selletti, and ordered him to post a $50,000 security bond. The Second Circuit affirmed in 1999.9GW Law – Music Copyright Infringement Resource. Selletti v. Carey
Dimmie v. Carey
Rhonda Dimmie also sued over “Hero,” alleging in Manhattan federal court that the song took the music and theme from her 1990 track “Be Your Own Hero.” Judge Richard M. Berman dismissed the case in 2000 as having “no basis” after Carey’s team showed they had never reviewed Dimmie’s unsolicited recordings.10Record Online. Pop Singer Cleared Copyright Infringement
Swirsky v. Carey
The one music case that did not go cleanly Carey’s way involved her 1999 single “Thank God I Found You.” Songwriters Seth Swirsky and Warryn Campbell sued, arguing the chorus was substantially similar to their 1997 song “One of Those Love Songs,” pointing to pitch, bassline, tempo, chord changes, and melodic structure. A district court granted Carey summary judgment, but the Ninth Circuit reversed in 2004, holding that the plaintiffs’ expert testimony raised genuine issues of fact for a jury. The case was sent back for further proceedings.11GW Law – Music Copyright Infringement Resource. Swirsky v. Carey
Why Her Songs Keep Drawing Suits
Money is the short answer. Analysts estimate “All I Want for Christmas Is You” alone has generated roughly $103 million in total revenue since 1994, pulling in about $3 million per year from recording royalties, publishing royalties, and licensing. The song has passed two billion streams on Spotify. Because Carey is both the performer and a co-writer, she collects on the sound recording and the underlying composition, and she earns royalties whenever any of the more than 150 cover versions gets played publicly.12CNBC. How Much Mariah Carey Makes From All I Want for Christmas Is You Under the Copyright Act, the composition remains protected for the life of the last surviving author plus 70 years, so that revenue stream, and the incentive to challenge it, will run for decades.
Non-Music Legal Matters
Virgin Records Payout
In April 2001, Carey signed with Virgin Records in a deal reportedly worth up to $100 million for five albums. After her first release under the contract, the soundtrack album Glitter, underperformed, the relationship collapsed. In January 2002, Virgin paid Carey $28 million to terminate the agreement, on top of $21 million she had already received. EMI’s new chairman, Alain Levy, called the payout “the most prudent course of action.”13The New York Times. Record Label Pays Dearly to Dismiss Mariah Carey Virgin described the split as a termination while Carey’s attorney said she “wanted out.” Her camp briefly weighed breach-of-contract claims over public statements by EMI, but no formal litigation followed.14Variety. Virgin Sacrifices Carey By May 2002, Carey had signed with Island/Def Jam.15The Washington Post. Carey Signs With Island/Def Jam
Suit Against a Former Assistant
In 2019, Carey sued her former personal assistant, Lianna Shakhnazaryan, alleging that Shakhnazaryan had secretly recorded intimate and personal videos and then tried to use them to extort $8 million. Carey also alleged violations of a 2015 nondisclosure agreement. Shakhnazaryan filed her own suit the same day, claiming she had suffered physical and sexual harassment during her 2015 to 2017 employment, primarily from Carey’s then-manager, Stella Bulochnikov. In February 2020, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge sanctioned Shakhnazaryan after finding she had destroyed evidence, including two videos and WhatsApp messages, by spilling water on her phone and trading it in. She was ordered to turn over her replacement phone and pay Carey’s legal fees on the evidence dispute. The parties reached an undisclosed settlement in July 2021.16Vanity Fair. Mariah Carey Settle $3 Million Lawsuit Ex-Assistant
James Packer Settlement
After Carey’s engagement to Australian billionaire James Packer ended in October 2016, reports said she was seeking $50 million from Packer as an “inconvenience fee” for having relocated to Los Angeles. No formal lawsuit was publicly filed. The two reportedly reached a private settlement a few months before November 2017, with Carey receiving a multimillion-dollar payout and keeping the $10 million, 35-carat engagement ring.17People. Mariah Carey James Packer Reach Settlement Keeps Engagement Ring