Mariah Carey Sued by Andy Stone Again over Claims 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' Copies His Same-Name Song
Similar to a lawsuit filed and dropped last year, Stone asks for $20 million in damages and alleges Carey's hit copies his own 1993 song
Another year, another $20 million lawsuit from Andy Stone over Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You."
Stone, who performs as Vince Vance and the Valiants, filed a civil lawsuit against Carey, co-writer Walter Afanasieff, and Sony Music Entertainment in the Central District of California on Tuesday, alleging "copyright infringement and unjust enrichment" over a successful song — also titled "All I Want for Christmas Is You" — he co-wrote in Nashville and released in 1989.
A similar lawsuit was filed by Stone and co-writer Troy Powers (who is also a plaintiff on the current case) in Louisiana last June before it was dropped five months later.
Related: Andy Stone Drops Lawsuit Claiming Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' Copied His Hit
In the new court documents obtained by PEOPLE, lawyers for Stone state that his "All I Want for Christmas Is You" received radio play in 1993 and became a hit on Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart the following year, around the same time Carey's now-classic festive anthem was released.
The filing claims that Carey copied the "compositional structure" of Stone's 1989 song, even though the documents also acknowledge the phrase "all I want for Christmas is you" wasn't originated by Stone.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs claim Carey and her collaborators "undoubtedly had access" to Stone's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" at the time of writing her homonymous song "given its wide commercial and cultural success."
"Defendants knew or should have known that 'All I Want or Christmas is You' could not be used in a musical work by Defendants without a license and/or songwriting credit, as is customary practice in the music industry," reads the documents.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and asking for $20 million in damages.
A rep for Carey did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Related: Mariah Carey Declares 'It's Time' as She's Defrosted for Christmas
Since its release on her iconic Merry Christmas album, Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," has received yearly radio play, topped the Billboard Hot 100, and been certified Diamond by the RIAA for more than 10 million copies sold — making it the only Christmas song to have accomplished the rare feat.
Stone's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" only continued to chart amongst Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks through 2000, but the song received a bump in relevance in 2020 when Kelly Clarkson released a cover version, which was later included on her 2021 album, When Christmas Comes Around…
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