A federal judge has opted against dismissing the copyright infringement claims levied by Limp Bizkit against Universal Music, which has until early April to submit an answer. Photo Credit: ECarterSterling
A judge has dismissed a number of state-law claims in Limp Bizkit’s unpaid-royalties lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG). But the core copyright infringement claims are moving forward at the federal level.
We last checked in on the high-stakes courtroom confrontation earlier this week, when covering Iggy Azalea’s separate unpaid-royalties allegations against UMG. At the time, a dismissal-motion hearing in the Limp Bizkit v. Universal Music showdown was slated for next Monday, March 24th.
Now shelved in light of the fresh court order, the dismissal hearing would have pertained specifically to the amended complaint submitted by Limp Bizkit (along with frontman Fred Durst) in February.
In short, that noticeably lengthier action doubled down on far-reaching existing claims, including by alleging material contractual misrepresentations from Flip Records founder and former Geffen president Jordan Schur.
And without retreading too much ground regarding those claims – we’ve covered the legal battle since it kicked off in October 2024 – Limp Bizkit and Durst are accusing UMG of fraud, withholding millions of dollars in due royalties, and a whole lot else, all allegedly discovered when Durst hired new reps in early 2024.
More pressingly, the plaintiffs maintain that they lawfully nixed the underlying agreements – one involving Limp Bizkit and Interscope, another concerning Durst’s Flawless Records JV, and a third pertaining to Flip and Limp Bizkit – after learning of the alleged contractual violations.
As such, the filing parties say they’re now (among other things) the rightful owners of the valuable masters in question. Given the works’ continued availability via UMG on streaming and elsewhere, that’s where the copyright infringement allegations come into play.
Unsurprisingly, the arguments aren’t sitting right with Universal Music, which in the above-noted dismissal push said that the Flip-related claims were subject to a forum-selection clause and should be tossed.
Additionally, the major-label defendant described Limp Bizkit’s contract rescindment as invalid for multiple reasons – with the infringement claims purportedly falling through as a result.
Back to the initially mentioned court order, the presiding judge just recently opted against hearing the 14 state-law claims in Limp Bizkit’s amended action, citing “the potential for juror confusion arising out of different legal standards for the state claims” and more.
Those claims have been dismissed without prejudice, and the act’s reps told DMN that they plan to refile in state court “soon.”
Still proceeding at the federal level, however, are the core copyright infringement allegations. As currently scheduled, Universal Music has until Monday, April 7th, to provide a formal answer.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.