MARTA receives two bomb threats »

While a lawsuit by former member Kristen Hall put a damper on Sugarland's No. 1 album on the chart this week, this isn't the first time the group has faced legal action.

In 2004, drummer Simone Simonton and guitarist Bret Hartley filed suit in DeKalb County Superior Court alleging that they contributed to songs that appeared on the band's first major label album, "Twice the Speed of Life," and were cut out of the authorship.

That case was settled, but the terms are confidential, according to an e-mail Friday from Simonton and Hartley's lawyer, Henry Hibbert.

Hartley, taking a break from recording his new album, wouldn't comment on either suit.

"I cannot tell you the details of my mediation, but I can tell you we mediated my concerns and Simone's concerns back in January of 2005," he said. "I ain't getting in the middle of this."

On Friday, Hall's attorney, Scott D. Sanders of Atlanta, said that when Hall left the group in late 2005, the group never settled its partnership affairs.

"If you form a business with somebody and, for whatever reason later on, the parties separate," Sanders said, "they need to have an accounting and what's called winding-down of partnership, and make a distribution of the assets and a valuation of the assets." Attempts to work out an agreement were not successful, he said.

The band's record label publicist referred requests for comment on the suit to band members Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush's Los Angeles attorney, Gary Gilbert. Messages left with Gilbert's office had not been returned by late Friday afternoon.

Barry Shrum, a Nashville entertainment attorney who writes a legal blog called www.lawontherow.com, said Hall has a legitimate claim given that her name is registered on the trademarks for the name "Sugarland."

"When you dissolve a partnership interest," he said, "you take all the assets, you value them and you pay the leaving partners whatever it's worth. She's essentially saying: 'Hey! I'm still a partner. As far as the agreement goes, you owe me money.' "

He said the band should have created a limited liability company, or LLC, and had that company own the trademarks.

"That would have made things a lot less muddied on who has the right to use that name," Shrum said. "Technically, [Hall] could use the name Sugarland herself if she wanted to."

Simonton and Hartley's lawsuit focused on the authorship of songs. Several of the tunes first appeared on Sugarland's independently released "Premium Quality Tunes," including breakthrough hit "Baby Girl."

The photo on the back of that first album shows five individuals —- Bush, Hall, Hartley, Nettles and Simonton —- and lists five more musical contributors. By the time Sugarland made its major label debut, there were three members pictured on the back.

When the second major label album, "Enjoy the Ride," hit stores in November 2006, there were two left.

The band's latest album, "Love on the Inside," rose to No. 1 on the album charts this week.

The suit filed by Hall last week states that since Dec. 20, 2005, "Nettles and Bush have excluded Hall from all aspects of the partnership business including, but not limited to, failing to account for and pay her a share of the partnership profits."

Hall's complaint asserts that she created the name and allowed Nettles and Bush "to obtain equal co-ownership of the trademark and service mark."

In an interview with the AJC just before "Enjoy the Ride" was released in late 2006, Hall said: "I don't want to be a touring musician. I just want to be a songwriter. ... I started the band. I named the band. We fought a war to make a brand name —- we did it. It's awesome. I'm totally proud of it and support it. Good for me."

Rodney Ho contributed to this article.