Cher must pick up $1M legal tab in royalties battle, judge rules

Cher will have to write the check to pay for more than $1 million in legal fees she piled up during her four-year court fight with the widow of Sonny Bono.

U.S. District Judge John Kronstadt wrote in a final judgment issued Nov. 26 that Mary Bono could not use the federal Copyright Act to reclaim royalties that were granted to Cher in 1978 as part of her divorce settlement with Sonny Bono.

Cher, 80, also wanted to be reimbursed for the legal fees spent defeating Mary Bono’s effort claiming that Mary Bono had “dragged” the case out by taking “unreasonable positions,” Billboard reported.

But on Monday, Kronstadt denied Cher’s request. The judge said the rules that would have allowed such forced repayment do not apply to the case because it centered more on contracts than federal copyright law, according to the music news website.

The ruling leaves Cher the winner of the overall case, but stuck paying $1,023,605 in legal fees, Rolling Stone reported.

Cher is a Grammy Award winner who also scored an Academy Award for Best Actress in “Moonstruck,” along with an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. In his decision in November, Kronstadt ruled that she can also keep her role as the avenue to pass royalties she sold to Iconic Artists Group.

Mary Bono wanted to do business directly with Iconic and route the payments through Sonny Bono’s estate, without Cher involved, according to Rolling Stone.

His ruling was the final chapter in a four-year battle between Cher and Mary Bono, 64. who handles her late husband’s estate.

Cher filed suit against Mary Bono in October 2021, claiming that Sonny Bono’s estate improperly tried to terminate her rights to Sonny & Cher royalties.

Sonny Bono died in a skiing accident in 1998, leaving his widow in charge of his estate. His music publishing grants became eligible for termination beginning in 2018. That is when Mary Bono began notifying publishers of her intent to reclaim certain interests, including royalties.

Cher, born Cheryl Sarkisian, married Salvatore “Sonny” Bono in 1964. In addition to their music, the couple also hosted a variety show on television, “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour,” from 1971 to 1974.

Sonny Bono also served in the U.S. House of Representatives in the late 1990s and was the mayor of Palm Springs, California, from 1988 to 1992.

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