Country trio Lady A and blues singer Lady A reached a settlement this week in their battle over their names.
Both sides asked a judge in Nashville federal court to dismiss their respective lawsuits. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Lady A sued Anita White, who has performed as Lady A for more than 20 years, in 2020 alleging that she was trying to “enforce purported trademarks rights in a mark that Plaintiffs have held for more than a decade" and her lawyers made “an exorbitant monetary demand.”
The group did not seek any monetary award but wanted a judge to declare that it can use the Lady A name.
According to the filing, the group – which consists of Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and David Haywood – has used the Lady A nickname since at least 2006 and successfully registered it with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2011.
White, they allege, only objected to their use of the name when Lady Antebellum announced in June 2020 that it was officially rebranding as Lady A. (“Antebellum" comes from the Latin phrase "before the war" and is closely associated with the period in U.S. history leading up to the Civil War, when slavery was common.)
Shortly after rebranding as Lady A, the group said they had met with White. “Today, we connected privately with the artist Lady A,” they shared in an Instagram post. “Transparent, honest, and authentic conversations were had. We are excited to share we are moving forward with positive solutions and common ground. The hurt is turning into hope. More to come.”
In subsequent interviews, White said she did not trust Lady A. On July 7, her lawyer allegedly proposed a settlement that included $10 million U.S. for his client.
In a statement at the time, Lady A said: “When we learned that Ms. White had also been performing under the name Lady A, we had heartfelt discussions with her about how we can all come together and make something special and beautiful out of this moment. We never even entertained the idea that she shouldn’t also be able to use the name Lady A, and never will.
“We can do so much more together than in this dispute.”