PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Michael Bolton asked a federal appeals court to overturn a $5.4 million judgment against him for plagiarizing an Isley Brothers song.

The singer's attorney told the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday that neither his client nor Bolton's writing partner, Andy Goldmark, had heard of the Isley Brothers song before the lawsuit.

In 1994, a Los Angeles jury decided Bolton had stolen elements of the 1966 song "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" for his 1991 hit of the same name.

The jury awarded Ron and Marvin Isley 66 percent of all past and future royalties from the single and credited the song with 28 percent of the success of Bolton's album "Time, Love and Tenderness." A special master in 1996 set the total amount at $5.4 million.

"This has been five or six years of the most difficult experience of my entire life," Bolton said after Tuesday's hearing.

The three-judge panel is expected to rule within two months.

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