<> at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on September 28, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California.
Music News

Kesha Appeals Denied Injunction Against Dr Luke

Back from vacation and straight back to the courtroom, Kesha is filing an appeal in her ongoing case against Dr. Luke.

Last month, a New York State Supreme Court judge denied Kesha’s injunction, which would have allowed her to record with a different label while her ongoing lawsuit with Dr. Luke worked its way through the court. Kesha has claimed Dr. Luke drugged and sexually assaulted starting in 2005, when he first signed her to his Kemosabe label, an imprint of Sony Music.

Judge Shirley Kornreich denied Kesha’s request to be released from her contract, admitting she didn’t fully believe that the allegations were based in fact but, as Dr. Luke has alleged, an outrageous attempt to get her out of her obligations to Dr. Luke and Sony.

“You’re asking the court to decimate a contract that was heavily negotiated and typical for the industry,” she said, according to numerous reports. Based on Dr. Luke’s reported $60 million investment in Kesha’s career, and pointing to the agreement that Kesha will be allowed to record without his involvement, Kornreich ruled that her “instinct is to do the commercially reasonable thing” and keep the contract in place.

Within days, other women, including Adele, Lady Gaga and Kelly Clarkson provided their outspoken support of Kesha, while Dr. Luke continued to deny any wrongdoing and pointed to his close relationships with his “feminist mom,” three sisters, daughter and girlfriend.

Now Kesha’s back from a tropical island where she took a break from the spotlight, rested and ready for another round.

According to multiple reports Monday afternoon, Kesha’s attorney, Mark Geragos, announced that an appeal on the denied injunction will be filed this weekend.

“The Court erred in basing its decision on its finding that Kesha could record without interference from Gottwald,” Geragos wrote, according to The Verge.  “Although it recognized that ‘slavery was done away with a long time ago’ and that ‘[y]ou can’t force someone to work… in a situation in which they don’t want to work,’ the Court’s ruling requiring Kesha to work for Gottwald’s companies… does just that.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Luke’s attorneys released their own statement Monday afternoon, suggesting it was time for everyone involved to get back to work.

“The Court repeatedly stated Kesha was already free to record without Dr. Luke, and that she had not presented any facts supporting her claims. That’s because all the evidence — including Kesha’s own sworn testimony — show her allegations are false,” one of Dr. Luke’s attorneys said, according to the New York Daily News. “Her attorneys can continue manufacturing even more false and outrageous claims, but the fact remains that her time would be better spent in a studio than wasting time having her lawyer and mother spin lies in the media.”

Ding! Ding! Let the next round begin.

Amber Healy

I write about music policy and lawsuits because they're endlessly fascinating.

Amber Healy has 523 posts and counting. See all posts by Amber Healy

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