Members of boy band Why Don’t We have lost the use of the band name after a lengthy legal battle with their former management.
In 2022, the Los Angeles five-piece announced their hiatus in the middle of a legal battle with Signature Entertainment, to whom they signed upon forming in 2016.
Why Don’t We released two studio albums under their guidance – 2018’s ‘8 Letters’ and last year’s ‘The Good Times And The Bad Ones’, both of which landed on Atlantic Records – but in the months leading to the announcement, they had been fighting to break away from their contract.
Per Rolling Stone, last night (February 27), a jury in an Orlando courtroom ruled that four of the band’s members – Zach Herron, Corbyn Besson, Jonah Marais, and Jack Avery – must each pay a sum of US$1 to their former manages in Signature Entertainment over breach of contract.
As a result of this, the band members are barred from using the band’s name in the future. The fifth Why Don’t We member, Daniel Seavey, filed for bankruptcy at an undisclosed time years ago, and thus his name was removed from the contract.
In the lawsuit, Herron, Besson, Marais and Avery had accused their former manager David Loeffler of abuse. They lost this defamation aspect of the lawsuit, thus owing Signature US$400,000.
The fine was canceled out as Signature themselves were also fined US$400,000 for breach of fiduciary duty in the case. Rolling Stone noted that Signature had originally filed to sue for US$50million.
A statement from the band members – who signed off as “Formerly known as Why Don’t We” – was issued on social media via Herron’s Instagram account.
“Finally, this lawsuit nightmare is over, and we’re excited to put this behind us and continue our solo careers,” they wrote. “Thank you for your support”.
In 2022, alongside the announcement of their hiatus, the band shared a scan of a cease and desist letter they’d received.
Though the overwhelming bulk of it was redacted, the letter stated that without the formal involvement of Signature Entertainment, Why Don’t We “does not have the capacity to enter into an agreement with any promotor or venue for [their scheduled ‘Good Times Only’] tour”.
“You should immediately cease and desist from promoting or otherwise proceeding with the tour or using Signature’s intellectual property rights without Signature’s authorization,” the letter continued. As the band’s very branding belongs to Signature, all 44 dates of the ‘Good Times Only’ tour – which was slated to run from late July through to early October – have been cancelled.
In 2021, the band accused Signature of engaging in “mental, emotional and financial abuse”. They singled out one of their former managers – who isn’t named in the band’s statement, but was later reported as David Loeffler – who is alleged to have “controlled us 24/7, setting an alarm that would go off if any door or window [in the house they all lived together in] was opened”.