Cher's court victory comes with a costly twist

Cher may have won the fight over Sonny Bono’s music royalties–but the final chapter of the legal battle comes with a hefty price tag.

New court documents obtained by People magazine reveal that a federal judge has ruled the music icon must pay her own legal bills, rejecting her request to recover more than $1 million in attorney’s fees after her courtroom victory against Mary Bono, the widow of her late ex-husband Sonny Bono.

The dispute dates back to 2021, when Cher sued Mary, claiming royalties from Sonny & Cher classics–including I Got You Babe and The Beat Goes On–had been wrongly withheld.

Cher argued that her right to 50% of those royalties was protected under her 1978 divorce agreement and accused Mary of trying to use a “wholly inapplicable statutory termination provision of the Copyright Act of 1976” to erase those rights.

Cher ultimately prevailed in 2024, with the court awarding her more than $418,000 in unpaid royalties.

Hoping to recover the cost of the legal fight, Cher later sought $1,023,605.30 in attorney's fees. Her legal team argued she “incurred attorney’s fees in successfully prosecuting this action.” 

Further adding, “Apportionment of Cher’s fees is unnecessary because her successful breach of contract claim and Defendant’s unsuccessful second counterclaim share a common core of facts with Cher’s declaratory relief claim, and because any fees incurred in relation to Defendant’s partially successful first counterclaim were de minimis.”

Judge John A. Kronstadt disagreed, ruling the case centered on contract law rather than federal copyright law–meaning each side must cover its own legal costs.

In Hollywood, even a courtroom win can come with an expensive encore.