Lady Gaga, Lost Surfboards clash over $232,000 bill after Mayhem case

Lost Surfboards is refusing to pay Lady Gaga's $232,000 legal bill after losing its trademark fight over her album Mayhem.

The surf company set out its opposition in a court filing on Thursday, Sept. 24. Billboard, which first reported the filing, said a hearing on the fee request is set for Oct. 15 Billboard.

The dispute centres on Gaga's album title. Lost Surfboards sued in March 2025. It alleged the Mayhem name infringed the name and stylised red logo of Mayhem surfboards sold since the 1980s.

Lost wanted more than damages. It sought an injunction, a court order blocking sales, to stop Gaga selling Mayhem merchandise online and at stops of the Mayhem Ball tour.

That tour ran for a year and grossed more than $400 million, according to Billboard's reporting. The album itself debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in March 2025. The chart is the United States' main weekly album ranking.

The court did not side with the surf brand. Judge Fernando M. Olguin refused to grant an injunction in December. He then dismissed the case in August, ruling that Lost had failed to show Gaga intentionally tried to dupe consumers with her use of the word mayhem.

Gaga's lawyers at Gibson Dunn then asked Lost to cover their costs. The request covers 150 hours of legal work and totals $232,000.

Lost calls that sum inflated. In its Sept. 24 filing, the company said its purpose was to protect a registration it owns against use of the identical word with nearly identical stylisation on apparel. It is also appealing the dismissal. The appeal was lodged in the week before Sept. 25.

For fans, this means two fights are now running at once. One is over who pays for the first case. The other is Lost's appeal seeking to revive it.