An appellate court has denied a petition by singer Mariah Carey to rehear a copyright infringement case regarding her 1999 hit "Thank God I Found You."

A three-judge panel in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit filed by Seth Swirsky and Warryn Campbell, who composed "One of Those Love Songs" for the now-defunct R&B Atlanta band Xscape. The composers claim that Carey's piece, which was released on her album "Rainbow" in November 1999, shares a similar chorus to their 1998 song and infringes their copyrights.

They also sued Carey's co-writers, James Harris II and Terry Lewis, their studio, Flyte Time Productions Inc., as well as publisher Sony Music Entertainment Inc. and affiliates Columbia Records, ATV Songs LLC, Rye Songs and EMI April Music.

The appellate panel reversed the decision of a U.S. District Court judge in L.A. in ruling the composers have enough evidence to bring a case against Carey. Key among that evidence is the testimony of the composers' expert, Robert Walser, chairman of the musicology department at the University of California, Los Angeles, the appellate ruling says.

"Walser admitted that the lyrics and verse melodies of the two songs differed 'clearly and significantly,' but stated that the two songs' choruses shared a 'basic shape and pitch emphasis' in their melodies,'" wrote Senior Circuit Judge William Canby Jr. "Walser also noted that it was a "suspicious coincidence' that the two songs' choruses were both sung in B flat" and that "measures five through seven of each chorus were 'almost exactly' the same as the first three measures of each chorus."

In its Aug. 24 ruling, the appellate panel also denied Carey's petition to re-hear the case, which goes to trial in U.S. District Court in L.A. if Carey does not petition the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Thank God I Found You" was No. 1 on Billboard's pop singles in February 2000. It was Carey's 15th No. 1 hit and one of Sony Music's biggest hits for that year, according to Billboard magazine. "One of Those Love Songs" was released on Xscape's 1998 album. "Traces Of My Lipstick."

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