Hall & Oates’ ‘H2O’ album cover.

Daryl Hall and John Oates have resolved the legal dispute over their Hall & Oates partnership. After years of litigation and public barbs, the pop-rock powerhouse of the ’70s and ’80s is no longer divided in the contributors’ stances on the sale of their recording catalog, revealed on Monday in a quiet court filing made by attorneys for Hall. Details of the resulting agreement have not been revealed.

The rift between Hall & Oates began in 2023, when the duo’s lead vocalist Hall launched arbitration to stop lead guitarist Oates’ efforts to sell his share of Whole Oats Enterprises to music publishing, management and marketing concern Primary Wave. Oates’ deal with Primary Wave–which has become a force in music icon representation through acquisition of recordings by Bob Marley, Prince, The Doors, John Lennon, Nirvana, Sun Records and more–would have included part of the duo’s royalties and name/likeness rights. In his suit, Hall alleged that Oates had committed the “ultimate partnership betrayal,” timed “to create the most harm to me” and leaving him “deeply troubled by the deterioration of my relationship with, and trust in, John Oates.”

Oates quickly responded with a countersuit, asserting that he was upset by his partner’s “inflammatory, outlandish, and inaccurate statements about me.” While refraining from dragging what he found to be a personal dispute into the legal action, he did claim that their artistic uncoupling was predicated by Hall’s history of “consistently and publicly [being] adamant about being perceived as an individual rather than as part of a duo or group.” “On this point I agree,” he underscored. “I now must act with truthfulness and make decisions that are right for myself, my family, and my artistic future.”

Since the initial spat, Hall and Oates have continued on trajectories as solo artists, only occasionally commenting that they had not been in communication. In an interview regarding his 2024 solo record Reunion, Oates told The Associated Press that fans should not expect the title to reflect his longstanding artistic partnership, as a reconciliation was “not in my plans at all. You can ask Daryl Hall what he thinks. But for me personally, no.” In a conversation with The Times, Hall said, “That ship has gone to the bottom of the ocean.”