Raul Malo's widow sues to stop use of The Mavericks name
The fight over The Mavericks is now a legal one. Betty Malo, the widow of singer Raul Malo, wants a court to stop the three remaining musicians from using the band's name.
A band with a long record
The group began in 1989, and MCA signed it two years later. "Here Comes the Rain" earned a Grammy in 1996 and climbed to No. 22 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. The band paused in the 2000s, then came back in 2012. Its album In Time reached No. 39 on the Billboard 200.
In 2024 Raul disclosed a colon cancer diagnosis. The disease later reached his brain. He died at the end of 2025.
Royalty statements and a trademark case
Betty wants a judge to bar the surviving musicians from calling themselves The Mavericks. She also wants an order that they hand over royalty statements. A further demand concerns unreleased materials and photographs that use Raul's name, image, likeness or voice. She wants all of them returned.
This is not her only case. A separate, ongoing proceeding challenges the members registering "The Mavericks" again as a trademark for recordings, live shows and merchandise. The band had held several versions of that trademark since 1992.
What the operating agreement says
The lawsuit says neither the company behind the band nor the individual defendants may use the name unless Raul is a member of the LLC. The exception is her consent. She gives it as personal representative of his estate, and she holds 35% of the financial rights in the LLC.
She filed on Tuesday, Nov. 11. The defendants are drummer Paul Deakin, keyboardist Jerry Dale McFadden and guitarist Eddie Perez. Since Raul's death they have kept performing with guest singers under the name "The Mavericks & Friends".
The three have described that project as "honoring their beloved Raul Malo while building upon the legacy he helped create." Their attorneys say it is legal. After Raul died, the members changed the operating agreement and took out the restrictive wording.
Betty calls the change invalid. Her argument is that they were terminated members with no power to rewrite the agreement. She adds that doing so breached fiduciary duties owed to her, meaning duties of loyalty, and endangers her financial interests.
Representatives of the surviving members did not immediately answer requests for comment on Friday, Nov. 13.
Source: Billboard