Lady Gaga seeks $232,484 in fees after beating Mayhem lawsuit

Lady Gaga wants surf company Lost Surfboards to pay her $232,484 in legal fees after she defeated its lawsuit over the name of her Mayhem album.

The request was made in a motion filed on Friday ahead of 14 September 2026. Her lawyer, Orin Snyder, told the court the case was “exceptional” under federal trademark law, a standard that can allow a winning side to recover its costs, and described it as a publicity stunt meant to cash in on her fame and force a settlement, Billboard.

Lost sued Gaga, whose legal name is Stefani Germanotta, in March 2025. The company said it had sold boards under the Mayhem name since the 1980s and argued that fans would assume its brand had endorsed Gaga’s album.

It also claimed her stylised red Mayhem logo was highly similar to the mark used on its surfboards. The case was heard in California federal court, Law360.

Judge Fernando M. Olguin rejected Lost’s bid for an injunction in December. An injunction is a court order that would have forced Gaga to stop using the Mayhem name on the album and tour.

He later dismissed the lawsuit outright. He ruled shoppers were unlikely to confuse a pop album with a surfboard brand and said the claim was blocked by First Amendment protections, the US law that shields expressive works such as songs and album titles.

Gaga’s fee motion says Lost dragged the case out for nine months after losing that injunction fight. It points to repeated demands for a full-day deposition of Gaga while she was on an international tour.

What makes this stand out is the tone. Fee requests are routine after a dismissal, but Snyder’s filing accuses Lost of pursuing a weak case for attention rather than testing a real trademark clash.

Lost’s lawyer, Keith G. Bremer, said he and his client respectfully disagree with the dismissal and plan to appeal. As of 14 September 2026, no notice of appeal had been filed.

The judge will now decide whether Lost must cover Gaga’s bill, and for how much.