A federal judge has denied Cher’s request to force Sonny Bono’s wid- ow to reimburse her for over $1 mil- lion in legal fees after their royalty court battle. After Cher’s triumph in court against Mary Bono, widow of her ex- husband Sonny, the singer requested Bono cover her legal fees, which amounted to more than $1 million. But a federal judge has denied that request, meaning Cher will have to foot her attorneys’ bill herself. The matter centered on Mary Bono’s attempts to stop Cher’s 50% share of royalty payments from her 1978 divorce settlement with Sonny. Mary Bono argued that copyright “termination rights” allowed her to void the divorce agreement. But the judge disagreed with that interpretation, ruling that the di- vorce agreement took precedence over any copyright termination clauses. While Mary Bono continues to appeal Cher’s victory, Cher sought to force Bono to reimburse her legal fees, claiming that Bono “dragged” the case out un- necessarily over the last two years. However, Judge John A. Kronstadt denied the motion in a decision on Monday, July 20. Sonny and Cher’s 1978 divorce settlement entitled her to a permanent 50% cut of the publishing revenue from songs written during their time together, in- cluding “I Got You Babe” and “The Beat Goes On.” Bono later married Mary; he passed away in a skiing accident in 1998.