Summary of the Why Don’t We Trial
By: Kelsey Welby
Anyone online frequently around the year 2017 has a high chance of recognizing the band name “Why Don’t We.” The band, formed in 2016 and consisting of five members, rose to popularity very fast (Mier, 2025). Unfortunately, this did not last, with the band going on hiatus in 2022. Little did they, or their fans, know, but Why Don’t We would never return.
At the end of February, many people’s social media feeds became inundated with Why Don’t We content. This was because their years-long lawsuit was finally ending. Members Jack Avery, Corbyn Besson, Zach Herron, and Jonah Marais were all heavily involved in a court case. Daniel Seavey, who had filed for bankruptcy in 2022, had been removed from Why Don’t We’s contracts, but testified and shared updates on social media regarding the case. The lawsuit, which caused their hiatus, had many parts.
First, in 2021, the band members alleged that they had been mentally, financially, and emotionally abused by their former manager, David Loeffler. They claimed that Loeffler lived with and controlled them, keeping them trapped in their house. They also claimed that Loeffler kept them “malnourished” and would “verbally [berate]” them in front of others. Signature Entertainment, the management company that employed David Loeffler, sued the band for defamation for $50 million. The jury concluded that the allegations were not true, but the $50 million was decreased to just $400,000. This $400,000 was cancelled due to a found “breach of fiduciary duty” (Mier, 2025). Fiduciary duty is the necessity of a manager, or another in a role of benefitting another, to, “act in a way that will benefit someone else financially” (Legal Information Institute, n.d.).
The breach of fiduciary duty was found in the credits provided in some of Why Don’t We’s music. Daniel Seavey helped produce and write much of their second album. However, Jaycen Joshua, a man with less involvement in the production of the album, was given credit and received higher percentages in the revenue split. This meant that a man who had less of an impact on the album and wasn’t even in the band, would likely end up making more money than, or close to the same amount as, Seavey.
Another aspect of this lawsuit involved Why Don’t We’s most recent manager. Randy Phillips, who helped found Signature Entertainment and owns over a quarter of the company, had the biggest order of the lawsuit. He “was ordered to pay $3 million to his former business partners after the jury found that he tortiously interfered with business relationships” (Mier, 2025). Why Don’t We was ordered to pay their former management company a symbolic $4 for a supposed breach of contract, $1 for each band member whose names were still on the contract. It is not currently public information as to how these two settlements were decided, and what they were in regards to specifically.
Why Don’t We lost the rights to the band name, and the members are in the process of figuring out where to go from here. The songs by the band formerly known as Why Don’t We are now owned by Signature Entertainment (Wickes, 2025). Daniel Seavey has been embarking on a solo career, since his bankruptcy filing. The other members are starting to follow, specifically Jonah Marais and Corbyn Besson. Randy Phillips emphasized the importance of understanding contracts before signing them upon the conclusion of this case, possibly hinting at the major problems involved in this lawsuit.
Sources:
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). Fiduciary Duty. LII. Retrieved April 1, 2025, from https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/fiduciary_duty
Mier, T. (2025, February 28). Why Don’t We Members Can’t Use Band’s Name After ‘Nightmare’ Legal Battle. Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 1, 2025, from https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/why-dont-we-lawsuit-verdict-band-name-1235282187/
Wickes, H. (2025, March 4). Why Don’t We’s Lawsuit Has Finally Come to a Close: What It Means for the Boy Group’s Future. J-14. Retrieved April 1, 2025, from https://www.j-14.com/posts/why-dont-wes-lawsuit-explained-mixed-verdict-revealed/
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