Sam Smith faces new legal challenges for ‘Stay With Me’

Sam Smith is facing a new legal challenge after songwriter Mark Halper filed a lawsuit pertaining to “phraseology and significant phrase” similarities between Smith’s ’Stay With Me’ and Halper’s 1989 demo track ‘Don’t Throw Our Love Away’.

TMZ reports that Halper claims his demo bears a similarity to Sam Smith’s Grammy Award winning track. He’s suing several labels and seeking a Grammy Award for himself.

The new claim follows an out of court settlement between Smith and Tom Petty in October 2014, with Smith awarding a writing credit to Petty and co-writer Jeff Lynne after similarities were spotted between ’Stay With Me’ and their track ‘I Won’t Back Down’. Smith’s track went on to win the Record of the Year and Song of the Year titles at the 2015 Grammy Awards.

Read more further details of the case on TMZ’s website here.