First reported by Billboard: Johnny Ramone’s widow has bought Joey Ramone’s brother out of the Ramones’ estate, ending a years-long legal battle between the two heirs to the iconic punk band’s legacy.
www.billboard.com/pro/ramones-...
Obtained the Swedish court lawsuit brought against the Avicii estate by manager Ash Pournouri, who claims the Bergling family breached a contract by falsely suggesting in a Netflix doc and two books he was “manipulative slavedriver” who overworked the DJ and drove him to suicide.
Had a great time speaking with @wbur.org about music piracy at the Supreme Court. Take a listen!
www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...
The Johnny Cash estate sued Coca-Cola for allegedly hiring a tribute singer to mimic his voice in a college football ad. This is the first high-profile case to be brought under Tennessee’s recently enacted right of publicity expansion, the ELVIS Act.
Suno & WMG Ink Licensing Deal, Effectively Settling WMG’s Lawsuit Against the AI Music Company
Revisiting my New York court roots - Don Henley and his longtime manager Irving Azoff have won dismissal of a lawsuit over their ultimately unsuccessful prosecution of three men for allegedly trying to sell stolen, original lyrics from the Eagles’ 1976 album Hotel California.
The legal battle between A$AP Relli and A$AP Rocky continues on despite Rocky’s acquittal on felony shooting charges. We've got a civil assault trial on tap in January, and a judge refused Thursday to throw out Relli's defamation suit against Rocky and lawyer Joe Tacopina.
Dove deep into court records to untangle the origin of a real estate development underlying Calvin Harris' fraud claims against his former business manager. It turns out the project was originally thought up to ease tax liabilities on a $90 million catalog sale.
EXCLUSIVE: Michael Jackson’s estate is ratcheting up allegations that a recent child abuse accuser fabricated his claims for a payday. New papers identify the man as a music manager and author of the 2011 memoir "My Friend Michael."
www.billboard.com/pro/michael-...
Halle Bailey Says Her Mental Health Is Under Control and Slams DDG for Embellishing in Custody Case
Jimmy Buffett’s Widow Sues to Replace Business Manager Handling $275M Estate
Salt-N-Pepa is taking UMG to court to regain control of their masters, saying the label is refusing to honor copyright clawback rights and has instead “punished” the legendary hip-hop act by removing some of its music from streaming.
www.billboard.com/pro/salt-n-p...
DOJ is conducting a criminal investigation into whether Live Nation and AEG illegally colluded in their concert refund policies at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Live Nation confirmed as it denied any wrongdoing.
www.billboard.com/pro/live-nat...
Housekeepers suing Smokey Robinson for sexual assault have now filed a police report, leading the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to open a criminal investigation on top of the bombshell civil claims filed against the 85-year-old Motown legend.
www.billboard.com/pro/smokey-r...
NEW: Taylor Swift’s longtime lawyers are asking a court to throw out a subpoena they were served by Justin Baldoni in his feud with Blake Lively, just a few days after Swift’s own reps slammed Baldoni for targeting the pop star with a similar subpoena.
www.billboard.com/pro/taylor-s...
Taylor Swift has been hit with a subpoena officially dragging her into the legal drama between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Swift's reps aren't happy, slamming the move for "creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
www.billboard.com/pro/taylor-s...
A judge denied Lil Durk’s latest request to be released from jail as he awaits trial on murder-for-hire charges, unswayed that the Chicago drill star’s circumstances have dramatically changed following the removal of rap lyrics from his indictment.
www.billboard.com/pro/lil-durk...
Smokey Robinson has denied shocking new claims of sexual assault, saying through his attorney that the “vile, false allegations” are merely “an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon.”
www.billboard.com/pro/smokey-r...
My first story for @billboard.com: Smokey Robinson and his wife have been hit with an explosive new lawsuit that seeks $50 million in damages over claims that the legendary Motown singer repeatedly raped four housekeepers over nearly two decades.
www.billboard.com/pro/smokey-r...
It's my first day as a senior writer at @billboard.com, where I'll be covering all things legal within the music industry. So excited to dive into this beat! Say hi: rscharf@billboard.com
Personal news: It's my last day at Law360. I'm so grateful to have begun my journalism career here, and I'll miss all my colleagues in NY, LA and elsewhere. I'll still be on the legal beat - more on that soon.
My final story for Law360 is a classic:
www.law360.com/articles/232...
From today's Jay-Z v. Buzbee hearing in LA: The judge said Jay-Z's new evidence "has thrown a monkey wrench" in his analysis of the rapper's feud with personal injury atty Tony Buzbee, and he's now inclined to keep alive an extortion claim.
www.law360.com/articles/231...
My story on opening statements today: www.law360.com/articles/231...
trial resumes after the weekend.
I'm in Santa Monica court, where a civil trial is about to begin against DeAndre Cortez Way AKA Soulja Boy. The rapper's ex-assistant/girlfriend alleges recurrent physical and sexual abuse.
A previous domestic abuse trial against Soulja Boy ended with a $500K verdict in 2023.
BREAKING: Jurors in LA federal court just returned a verdict clearing a Disney subsidiary of infringing artist Buck Woodall's work "Bucky" to make the hit animated movie "Moana."
NOW: Jurors in LA federal court are deliberating over whether Disney's "Moana" ripped off the work of animator Buck Woodall. The trial lasted two weeks, and delibs began an hour ago.
Background: www.law360.com/articles/230...
A longtime animation director for The Walt Disney Co. testified that blockbuster movie "Moana" was inspired by Polynesian mythology and extensive research into the region and its culture, not the work of another artist now suing for copyright infringement. www.law360.com/artic...
A movie executive told an LA jury Monday that she never shared a distant family member's script with The Walt Disney Co., and that she later felt "set up" and pressured to lie for this relative's copyright suit over the blockbuster animated film "Moana."
www.law360.com/california/a...
An animation artist's attorney told jurors on the first day of an LA federal court trial Wednesday that Disney stole his magnum opus to develop "Moana," while Disney said the 2016 blockbuster was entirely original.
www.law360.com/articles/230...
