The Beat Goes On: Cher And Sonny Bono's Widow Settlement Talks Fall Apart in $1 Million Battle Over Royalties
Peace talks between Cher and Sonny Bono's widow went nowhere in the bitter and long-simmering legal battle over $1 million in music royalties, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, California Judge John A. Kronstadt gave Cher and Mary Bono a chance to hash out a deal in the legal scrum that erupted in 2021 when the Believe singer claimed she was secretly severed from the cash flow.
A progress report submitted by Cher and Bono, who have filed counterclaims against each other, revealed they were unable to reach a settlement and indicated further talks are hopeless.
Cher filed a lawsuit against Sonny Bono's widow over royalties to the Sonny and Cher music catalogue.
“Plaintiff and counter-defendant Cher and defendant and counterclaimant Mary Bono respectfully submit this Joint Report to advise the Court that, following the February 26, 2024, hearing on the parties’ respective Motions for Summary Judgment, their counsel have conferred and are unable to advise the Court that a second mediation in this action would be productive,” the lawyers for both women wrote in their March 5, 2024 statement
The 'Goddess of Pop' slammed Bono with the lawsuit charging she secretly diverted millions in royalty payments generated by Sonny and Cher’s vast music collection and smash hits such as I Got You Babe and The Beat Goes On.
The 77-year-old Grammy winner declared that the ironclad Marriage Settlement Agreement (MSA) she signed with Sonny in 1978 mandates her a 50-percent cut of the duo’s compositions and record sales following their separation and eventual divorce.
Cher claims a 1978 Marriage Settlement Agreement with Sonny entitles her to 50-percent of the royalties.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Cher and Mary Bono, who was married to Sonny for 12 years until his 1998 ski accident death, had a cooperation agreement to split the royalties evenly.
But the relationship went south when the Moonstruck Oscar winner, worth an estimated $360 million, signed an agreement to sell her music rights to a publishing company named Iconic Cher LLC.
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Cher and Mary Bono agreed to split the proceeds 50/50.
Bono claimed the sale terminated the I Found Someone singer’s rights to the 50-percent cut since a new publishing company was going to be grabbing a piece of the action.
“Cher should not be entitled to more than what she bargained for in the MSA,” Bono claimed in court documents.
Judge Kronstadt ordered the peace talks after both Cher and Bono filed motions for summary judgments seeking to get the respective claims tossed out.
Mary Bono claimed Cher would also have to sue her son Chaz if she wanted to proceed with the lawsuit.
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