Mariah Carey was handed a win in Los Angeles federal court when a judge decided that she did not illegally pirate elements of her holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” from a song of the same name released three years earlier, court papers obtained Friday show.
Songwriters Andy Stone — also known as Vince Vance — and Troy Powers claimed in a November 2023 lawsuit that they released their “All I Want For Christmas Is You” in 1989. Carey issued her megahit just before the 1994 holiday season, and it has become massively popular.
In their $20 million lawsuit against Carey, co-writer Walter Afanasieff and Sony Music Entertainment, Stone and Powers alleged in L.A. federal court that Carey’s song lifted melodies, lyrics and other elements from their number.
However, in her Wednesday ruling granting Carey’s request for summary judgment, U.S. District Judge Monica Almadani determined that music experts would not be able to show enough similarity between the two songs if the case went to trial.