A surfboard brand unsuccessfully sued Lady Gaga over her Mayhem album — but in a new court filing, the company says this loss does not automatically mean it should be on the hook for the star’s hefty legal bills.
Last month, a judge threw out Lost Surfboard’s claims that the title of Lady Gaga’s chart-topping 2025 album Mayhem infringed its trademarks for a “Mayhem” brand of surf equipment. The pop superstar (Stefani Germanotta) has since argued that Lost should repay her $232,000 tab from the elite law firm Gibson Dunn.
Lost opposes this request in a Thursday (Sept. 24) court filing, first obtained and reported by Billboard. The surf company, which is appealing the dismissal of its case, says it had a valid basis for suing Lady Gaga, and that legal fees should only be granted in extreme situations when a lawsuit was obviously unreasonable from the start.
“Attorneys’ fees are the exception, not a consolation prize for the prevailing party, and this case does not stand out,” write Lost’s lawyers in the opposition.
Lady Gaga’s team has argued that the case was a “publicity stunt” designed to extract a settlement from the famous singer. But Lost says this is simply not true: “Lost’s real purpose in filing its lawsuit was to protect a registration it owns … against use of the identical word with nearly identical stylization on apparel,” reads the filing.
Lost points out the lawsuit was dismissed on highly technical grounds; the First Amendment makes it very difficult to sue over the use of trademarks in artistic works like music and movies, and Judge Fernando M. Olguin ruled that Lost couldn’t get over that hurdle without showing that Lady Gaga intentionally tried to dupe consumers with her use of the word “mayhem.”
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“Defendants ultimately prevailed under … a fact-intensive defense turning on artistic relevance and explicit misleadingness,” Lost says. “Defendants now attempt to recast that merits ruling, with the benefit of hindsight, as proof that Lost’s claims were unreasonable from the outset. It proves no such thing.”
Lost also argues in Thursday’s filing that Gibson Dunn’s $232,000 fee request for 150 hours of legal work is “inflated.” The surf company says this amount should be reduced even if Lady Gaga does get awarded some fees.
Lady Gaga’s lawyers did not immediately comment on the filing on Friday (Sept. 25). A hearing regarding legal fees is set for Oct. 15.
Mayhem debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in March 2025 and spent 63 weeks on the chart. Lost sued Lady Gaga the same month, alleging the album title infringed both the name and stylized red logo from Mayhem surfboards it had been selling since the 1980s.
Lost sought to bar Lady Gaga from selling Mayhem merch online or at stops of her global Mayhem Ball tour, which ultimately grossed more than $400 million during its yearlong run. But Judge Olguin refused to issue an injunction last December and then dismissed the case altogether in August.
“These allegations are conclusory and insufficient to constitute an explicit indication, overt claim, or explicit misstatement identifying Lost as the source of Lady Gaga’s work,” wrote the judge in his decision. “The use of a mark alone is not enough … and nothing in the [lawsuit] suggests or otherwise indicates an affirmative misrepresentation in connection with the source or the content of Lady Gaga’s work.”
Lost appealed that ruling last week.
