How did Mariah Carey prevail in the 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' copyright dispute? Lawsuit explained

Pop superstar Mariah Carey has successfully prevailed in a copyright dispute over her iconic holiday hit, All I Want for Christmas Is You, with the court awarding her significant sanctions against the plaintiffs.

According to legal documents obtained by TMZ, the judge ordered the parties who filed the lawsuit against Carey to pay more than $92,000 in sanctions. The total amount, including additional payments to other parties involved in the case, approaches $110,000. The ruling comes after a lawsuit filed in November 2023 by Andy Stone and Troy Powers, who claimed Carey had copied their 1989 song, also titled All I Want for Christmas Is You. The plaintiffs were reportedly seeking at least $20 million in damages.

#Exclusive 🙌 Mariah Carey scores a legal win in an "All I Want for Christmas" copyright lawsuit.

Details: https://t.co/kWlZQwvTZd pic.twitter.com/ruAGfA5HNv

— TMZ (@TMZ) December 23, 2025

Court dismisses Mariah Carey copyright lawsuit and awards sanctions in All I Want for Christmas Is You case

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, under Judge Monica Almadani, dismissed the lawsuit in March, citing insufficient evidence of substantial similarity between Carey's song and the 1989 track by Vince Vance and the Valiants. The judge found that Stone and Powers had not demonstrated that their country song could support a copyright infringement claim against Carey, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Corp.

In addition to dismissing the case, the judge granted Carey and her co-defendants’ request for sanctions against the plaintiffs. Judge Almadani noted that the lawyers representing Stone and Powers had made outdated legal arguments and presented statements of fact without supporting evidence.

Carey and her co-defendants have requested attorney fees totaling $185,602.30 to enforce the sanctions. “We are entitled to $185,602.30 in attorney fees to enforce the sanction,” the legal team confirmed. The attorneys of Stone and Powers did not react promptly to the request to comment, and the attorneys of Carey, Sony, and Universal were engaged in carrying out the sanction order. Kobalt Music Publishing America, another party that is being sued in the case, was represented by lawyers who refuse to comment.

The decision supports the copyright defenses on original music and sends a strong message that there exists no baseless copyright claims. The imposition of sanctions demonstrated by the court the necessity to prevent the appearance of meritless lawsuits, so artists, such as Mariah Carey, can still enjoy the success of their original work.