ABBA stars win
musical script dispute

Former ABBA stars Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson won a court battle Friday over who wrote the script for one of their musicals.

The feud between Ulvaeus and Andersson and writer Carl-Johan Seth concerned ''Kristina fran Duvemala,'' which has been viewed by more than 1 million people in Sweden and is expected to be cast on Broadway. Ulvaeus and Andersson wrote the songs and music for the play.

Seth argued that he should be considered the main writer, but Ulvaeus and Andersson said his work was unusable. They said they used a script by director Lars Rudolfsson and dramatist Jan Mark.

Seth's lawyer, Staffan Michelson, said his client would appeal the ruling by the Stockholm District Court.

According to Michelson, both parties signed a license agreement eight days before the musical's 1995 premiere in which they agreed to equal ownership of the script. ''I'm devastated that the district court doesn't even analyze this agreement,'' he told The Associated Press.

The musical is based on novels by Swedish writer Wilhelm Moberg, which depict the journey by Swedish emigrants to the United States in 1850.

ABBA, which also included singers Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, gained worldwide fame in the 1970s and early 1980s. (AP)