Rascal Flatts sued over copyright infringement

Songwriter D.L. Byron, who wrote Pat Benatar's Shadows of the Night, said the band used his song in writing No Reins off the "Still Feels Good" CD. Byron filed a federal suit against the band, producers and the Disney Music Group label for which Rascal Flatts records last August, although news of the suit was just reported in the New York Post.

"No Reigns is substantially similar to Shadows of the Night and that the defendants clearly had access to his song," said Byron in a statement. "All anyone has to do is to listen to the first 17 seconds of each recording and instantly hear the similarities."

News about the suit coincides with the Rascal Flatts concert at Madison Square Garden during the group's first visit to New York since Byron filed his lawsuit in Manhattan federal court.

The paper said, "To the extent that 'No Reins' shares any similarities with the plaintiff's alleged copyrighted work, any such similarities between the two works are the result of coincidence and/or the use of common or trite ideas," according to lawyers for band member Joe Don Rooney.