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Mariah Carey is set to receive a hefty refund after the copyright infringement case against her and her hit song “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was dismissed earlier this year.
On Dec. 23, Carey, 56, was awarded $92,303.20 in sanctions payable by attorney Gerard P. Fox, who represented the men suing the Grammy winner over her holiday classic, according to documents obtained by PEOPLE.
A court filing alleged that Fox raised “numerous legally irrelevant arguments” as to why attorneys’ fees should not be provided, and judge Monica Almadani wrote that she was awarding the sanctions in part “for purposes of punishment and deterrence.”
Plaintiffs Andy Stone and Troy Powers filed their copyright infringement suit against Carey, her co-writer Walter Afanasieff and others in November 2023, alleging that her 1994 holiday hit was lifted from their 1989 song of the same name, released by the group Vince Vance & the Valiants.
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They sought $20 million in damages and a trial by jury, but the case was dismissed in March, as Almadani ruled that there was not enough evidence to prove Carey had copied the song.
Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has become a holiday staple since its release, and recently spent a record-extending 21st week atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also recently became the longest-charting title ever by a female artist, and was the first holiday song to reach 2 billion streams on Spotify.
Court records indicate Fox has 90 days to pay Carey and the other defendants amounts totaling $109,983.20.
The filing claims that Fox violated the court’s bifurcation order and filed a motion for summary judgment that was described as “improper and frivolous.” Fox did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
During court proceedings, musicologist Dr. Lawrence Ferrara concluded that Carey’s song and Stone’s song are “very different songs and the only element of similarity is the use of the common lyrical idea and Christmas song clichés that were in common use prior to” the release of Stone’s song.
The songs were deemed different enough in their melody, harmony, rhythm and lyrics to not infringe on copyright.
