Raul Malo’s Widow Sues to Stop Remaining Members of The Mavericks from Using Band Name
The surviving band members have been performing as "The Mavericks & Friends" since Malo's death from cancer in 2025.
Betty Malo, the widow of the late frontman Raul Malo of The Mavericks, has filed a lawsuit against the remaining members of the band in an attempt to prevent them from using the band name. The members who have continued performing under the name "The Mavericks & Friends" since Raul's death in 2025 are drummer Paul Deakin, keyboardist Jerry Dale McFadden, and guitarist Eddie Perez.
Betty argues that their actions violate the operating agreement, which only allowed the group to be called "The Mavericks" as long as Raul was involved. The lawsuit, obtained by Billboard, claims that the remaining members have no right to use the Mavericks name without Betty's consent, as she holds 35% of the financial rights in the LLC.
The surviving band members argue that they amended the operating agreement after Raul's death to remove the restrictive language, making their actions legally permissible. Betty disputes this claim, stating that the amendment was unauthorized and breached their fiduciary duties to her. She is seeking a court order to declare the remaining members have no right to use the Mavericks name and to require them to provide royalty statements and return unreleased materials featuring Raul's name, image, likeness, or voice.
Betty also has an ongoing legal case challenging the re-registration of a trademark for recordings, live performances, and merch under "The Mavericks." The Mavericks, formed in 1989, won a Grammy in 1996 for "Here Comes the Rain."
Written by urgent.news from Billboard's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
