Lawsuit
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A federal judge says Missy Elliott must face trial in a lawsuit filed by a man who claims to have co-written several of her decades-old songs, though the judge dismissed allegations over one particular song released by Aaliyah. In a ruling Tuesday (Aug. 27), Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed […]
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Diddy has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit from Lil Rod, alleging that the producer sexually abused him.
According to reports, lawyers representing Diddy have filed a motion in a New York federal court seeking to dismiss the lawsuit brought against him by producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones in February. In a statement, the lawyers say that Lil Rod’s lawsuit “fails to state a single viable claim” and that the accusations are false. The original suit by Jones claims that Diddy drugged him, sexually assaulted and harassed him, and goaded him into procuring prostitutes to engage in sex with during a year that he spent with the mogul in Miami and Los Angeles producing the Love Album: Off The Grid from 2022 to 2023. Jones also claimed that Diddy, aka Sean Combs, was part of a RICO enterprise that included executives from Love Records, Motown Records, and Universal Music Group.
“There was no RICO conspiracy and Mr. Jones was not threatened, groomed, assaulted, or trafficked,” Diddy’s lead attorney Erica Wolff said in a statement. “We look forward to proving — in a court of law — that all of Mr. Jones’ claims are made-up and must be dismissed.” Jones’ initial lawsuit alleges that he has hundreds of hours of audio capturing many of the acts described, including threats of physical harm made against him by Diddy. The lawsuit also names Diddy’s oldest son, Christian “King” Combs, and other executives. Jones is seeking $30 million dollars in damages, claiming that he wasn’t paid for his work on the Love Album: Off The Grid, which would be nominated for a Grammy Award, and claiming Diddy promised him $20,000 and four royalty points per song in addition to publishing credits. A spokesperson for Combs denied that in a statement to Rolling Stone.
The motion comes as Diddy is dealing with six other lawsuits that allege that he engaged in sexual assault, drugging, and physical attacks. He is also the subject of a sex trafficking probe initiated by federal investigators, which resulted in a raid on his properties in Miami and Los Angeles earlier this year.
The fallout came after he was sued by his former partner, Cassie Ventura, last November on charges of rape and assault. He would settle with her shortly after.
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between. This week: Shaboozey gets into a thorny legal battle with his former label; Beyoncé and the Foo Fighters move to stop Donald Trump from using their songs; another lawsuit erupts over the control of the Ramones; and much more.
THE BIG STORY: Shaboozey’s Looming “Bar” Fight
Amid the massive success of Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” an acrimonious legal battle is brewing in Los Angeles Superior Court. On Wednesday (Aug. 21), the breakout country star (born Collins Obinna Chibueze) filed a lawsuit against music publisher Warner Chappell and his former record label, Kreshendo Entertainment, accusing them of breach of contract. Two days later, Kreshendo sued him right back, accusing him of “a strategy of fraud and misrepresentation.” The dispute? The extent to which Shaboozey is still bound by a deal he signed with Kreshendo back in 2016, when he was a relatively unknown artist. Both sides agree that the deal was terminated in 2019, but they are at odds over Shaboozey’s continuing obligations to his old label. And Warner has gotten roped in because it administers his publishing rights, which play a key role in the dispute. The litigation is getting underway just as “A Bar Song” has emerged as one of the biggest hits of 2024. A genre-blending hit that interpolates J-KWON‘s 2004 rap hit “Tipsy” into a bouncy pop country track, the track has spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the longest chart-topping stint of the year. In its lawsuit, Kreshendo says it was that sudden success that sparked the legal battle: “Shaboozey had no issue with any of these terms for years. It was only after he recently released the ‘Bar Song,’ which has become a huge hit, that he has taken sudden issue with the terms he expressly agreed to.” We’ll keep you posted as the dispute moves ahead in court…
Other top stories this week…
FAMILY FUED – A California appeals court issued a final ruling allowing the Michael Jackson estate to proceed with a $600 million sale of the singer’s catalog to Sony Music, rejecting objections from his mother Katherine Jackson that aimed to block the deal. She’d argued that the deal “violated Michael’s wishes,” but the court ruled that the superstar’s will gives his executors (John Branca and John McClain) “broad powers” to ink such transactions. HOLD UP – Beyoncé‘s record label and music publisher sent a cease-and-desist to Donald Trump‘s presidential campaign over its use of the megastar’s song “Freedom” in a social media video, prompting the campaign to quickly pull down the offending post. The Bey track serves as the official theme song for the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris — likely the reason why the Trump campaign used it. ANTI-HERO? – Elsewhere in Trump world, the Foo Fighters publicly claimed that they had not authorized the former president to play their 1997 anthem “My Hero” at a rally with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and would seek to prevent him from doing so in the future. The campaign later claimed that it had, in fact, obtained proper licenses to perform the song. Either way, the band said that any royalties received as a result of this usage would be donated to the Harris/Walz campaign. DAME’S UNPAID TAXES – Just a week before a court-ordered auction of Damon Dash’s one-third stake in Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records, there was a stunning new wrinkle: He owes more than $8.7 million in unpaid taxes — and New York state says the proceeds from the Roc-A-Fella sale must be used to pay them. The new claim complicated an already complex situation, in which Dash’s stake in the storied record label is being sold off by U.S. Marshals to pay off an $823,000 civil judgment. HEY, HO, LET’S SUE – Opening up a new front in the never-ending legal war over the Ramones, Joey Ramone’s brother (Mitchel Hyman, better known as Mickey Leigh) sued Johnny’s widow (Linda Cummings-Ramone), accusing her of infringing the band’s trademarks by carrying out an “unrelenting quest” to associate herself with the Ramones. DIDDY CASE UPDATE – Sean “Diddy” Combs asked a federal judge to dismiss a case filed in February by Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, arguing that the “salacious” lawsuit was filled with “blatant falsehoods” designed to pressure him into paying a lucrative settlement: “Running to nearly 100 pages, it includes countless tall tales, shameless celebrity namedrops, and irrelevant images.” SNEAKER SETTLEMENT – The sneaker company Vans and a Brooklyn art collective called MSCHF reached a settlement to end a long-running trademark lawsuit over Tyga‘s “Wavy Baby” sneakers — a parody of the company’s classic Old Skool brand of shoes. The artists said Tyga’s pricy sneakers were akin to an art project, and thus protected by the First Amendment. But Vans called it “blatant” infringement of the company’s IP, and federal courts repeatedly agreed with that assessment. OUTKAST TRADEMARK CASE – The legendary rappers sued an EDM duo called ATLiens, the same name as one of OutKast’s best-known songs. Big Boi and André 3000 claimed that the name (a combo of “aliens” and their hometown of Atlanta) is a novel linguistic term that had been “invented by OutKast” — and that the rival group is confusing music fans by using it. SHKRELI SEIZURE – A federal judge ordered convicted pharma executive Martin Shkreli to hand over his copies of Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, rejecting his claims that he had a right to retain duplicates of the one-of-a-kind album even after he forfeited it to federal prosecutors.
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UPDATE (Aug. 26): Shaboozey’s ex-record label sued him back after the singer filed his own lawsuit against the company, accusing him of “fraud” to avoid fulfilling his contractual obligations. You can read more here.
PREVIOUSLY (Aug. 23): Amid the chart-topping success of “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey is now suing music publisher Warner Chappell — claiming the company is stonewalling his efforts to exercise a contractual provision that would give him an early exit from his deal.
In a case filed Wednesday (Aug. 21) in Los Angeles, the country star (born Collins Obinna Chibueze) claims his publishing administration deal with Warner-Tamerlane (a unit of Warner Chappell) contained an acceleration clause — meaning he could repay 110% of advances to speed up the expiration of the deal.
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Shaboozey’s lawyers say he invoked that clause last month — perhaps unsurprisingly, given the massive success of “Bar Song.” But they claim Warner has, thus far, declined to even tell him how much is owed.
“To date, Warner has refused to disclose to plaintiff the total amount of the unrecouped balance of prior advances it made,” writes Todd Bonder, the star’s attorney. “Warner’s conduct violates the administration agreement signed between the parties.”
The lawsuit comes amid a breakout year for Shaboozey. “A Bar Song,” a genre-blending hit that interpolates J-KWON‘s 2004 rap hit “Tipsy” into a bouncy pop country track, has spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, tying the longest chart-topping stint for a song in 2024.
In his complaint, Shaboozey also names his former record label, Kreshendo Entertainment, as a defendant. He claims the company — which he left in 2019 before signing a new record deal with Empire — is the reason Warner is refusing to turn over the crucial information.
“Kreshendo and [others] have instructed Warner not to provide plaintiff the total unrecouped balance related to advances made with respect to the compositions or has refused to authorize Warner to provide such information,” his lawyers write.
The dispute appears to turn on Shaboozey’s argument that he personally took over Kreshendo’s role in the contract with Warner after he terminated his label. In his legal filings, he says that Warner “has not agreed” with such an interpretation.
The lawsuit also claims that Kreshendo released three separate Shaboozey songs in 2019 after he had already terminated the deal — “More,” “Joan Jett” and “Prosperity” — without his permission.
A spokesman for Warner Music Group did not immediately return a request for comment. A spokesperson for Kreshendo could not immediately be located for comment. A publicist for Shaboozey did not return a request for comment.
Days after Shaboozey sued both Warner Chappell and his former record label, the label sued him right back — accusing the breakout country star of using “fraud” and “bad faith” to avoid his existing contractual obligations in the wake of the massive success of “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”
In a complaint filed Friday (Aug. 23) in Los Angeles court, Kreshendo Entertainment claims that after it released Shaboozey (Collins Obinna Chibueze) from his record deal in 2019, the company retained key rights to his music. Rather than stick to those requirements, Kreshendo claims the star has instead “elected a strategy of fraud and misrepresentation to deprive plaintiffs of their contractual rights.”
“Notably, Shaboozey had no issue with any of these terms for years,” write the company’s attorneys, from the law firm Reed Smith. “It was only after he recently released the ‘Bar Song,’ which has become a huge hit, that he has taken sudden issue with the terms he expressly agreed to.”
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The new case was filed just two days after Shaboozey filed his own case on Wednesday (Aug. 21) against Kreshendo and Warner Chappell. In that lawsuit, Shaboozey claimed that Warner was blocking him from exiting a publishing administration deal and that it was doing so at the behest of Kreshendo even though he had terminated the label years earlier.
But in the new accusations, Kreshendo says it’s Shaboozey who’s in the wrong. The company admitted that it had released Shaboozey from his record deal in 2019 but argued that the move came with important stipulations — namely, that Kreshendo would continue to own a 50% stake in all of the singer’s compositions and retain a right to be paid a percentage of profits from his masters.
Those requirements were put in place, according to Kreshendo, to compensate the company for the support it had provided a then-undiscovered singer.
“Before Shaboozey became the well-known artist he is today, he was an unknown artist that plaintiffs believed in, and they agreed to invest their time and money to help him develop and reach success in the music industry,” the complaint reads.
The lawsuit claims that Shaboozey has repeatedly breached the termination agreement, including through failing to pay the required profits and also through the wrangling with Warner that was detailed in his own lawsuit earlier in the week. Kreshendo says Shaboozey’s statements to Warner, including directing the company to stop paying Kreshendo, have been “false” and “an attempt to circumvent his contractual obligations.”
An attorney for Shaboozey did not immediately return a request for comment from Billboard on Monday (Aug. 26). Warner Chappell, which was named as a defendant in Shaboozey’s case, is not a plaintiff in the newer lawsuit.
The dueling lawsuits come amid a breakout year for Shaboozey. “A Bar Song,” a genre-blending hit that interpolates J-KWON‘s 2004 rap hit “Tipsy” into a bouncy pop country track, has spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the longest chart-topping stint for a song in 2024.
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Nicki Minaj is dealing with a new legal battle, this time with a fan who claimed that she relentlessly slandered him online.
According to reports, Nicki Minaj is being sued by a former fan who alleges that the rap star humiliated him by slandering him repeatedly despite his avid support of her. The lawsuit was filed in a Los Angeles, California, court by Tameer Peak. Peak is suing for $5 million in damages for reputational harm, financial loss, and emotional distress. In the documents of the lawsuit, Peak states that he has been one of Nicki Minaj’s biggest fans for over 15 years and was instrumental in the social media promotion of Pink Friday 2, which was a boost to her career.
Peak says that the relationship changed amid the “Nicki Hate Train,” which took place in 2017 where the rapper accused several fans of hers of being moles who were tasked with sabotaging her. He also claims that Minaj berated him on an Instagram livestream that had over 100,000 viewers after inviting him to her hotel room to film, and that her husband, Kenneth Petty, assaulted him during a fan event at the 2020 Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida. The suit also claims that Peak received messages from other fans earlier this year to “stop saying dumb s–t,” and would fire insults at him in online sessions with fans, which included, “It’s clear they’re not necessarily, you know, a full basket umm at the picnic.” She also allegedly claimed the Newark, New Jersey, resident was on welfare and that he was a “stalker” who impersonated members of her team.
Peak has gained some notoriety in the past for being a superfan, having gained some fame for showing up to Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour in Philadelphia last year in an alien costume. “Mr. Peak has been harassing Nicki on social media for years on end to no avail,” said Nicki Minaj’s attorney Judd Bernstein in a statement. “He has now graduated to seeking to shake her down financially with manifestly false allegations and legally frivolous claims. He will regret having gone down this disreputable road when he is forced to pay her legal fees as required by California law.”
There’s a new front in the never-ending legal war between Joey Ramone’s brother and Johnny Ramone’s widow over control of the iconic punk band.
In a new lawsuit filed Friday (Aug. 23) in Manhattan federal court, Joey’s brother Mitchel Hyman (better known as Mickey Leigh) accused Johnny’s wife, Linda Cummings-Ramone, of violating federal trademark law by carrying out an “unrelenting quest” to associate herself with the Ramones.
As is typical of the nasty dispute between the two heirs (who each control exactly half of the band’s holding company), the lawsuit pulled no punches — calling Cummings-Ramone a former “groupie” with an “insatiable personal desire to shine a spotlight on herself.”
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“Ms. Cummings-Ramone has made and continues to make blatant attempts to exploit and personally capitalize on and benefit from the name, goodwill and legacy of the Ramones — that is, to try to push the false narrative that she is the heiress to … the Ramones’ legacy,” Leigh’s lawyers write. “She most certainly is not. She is nothing more than a blatant self-promoter and an infringer.”
Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Ross Hyman) and Johnny Ramone (John William Cummings) were not actually brothers, and they had a notoriously chilly relationship during their decades as bandmates. In the years since the two died in the 2000s, that feud has seemingly continued between Leigh and Cummings-Ramone.
As the executors of Joey’s and Johnny’s respective estates, Leigh and Cummings-Ramone each own half of Ramones Productions, the entity that controls the band’s music and other assets. But that partnership has not gone smoothly, featuring multiple lawsuits and arbitrations over the past decade.
The latest scuffle began in January, when Cummings-Ramone sued Leigh in New York state court over allegations that he had “covertly” developed an “unauthorized” biopic (believed to be Netflix’s announced Ramones movie starring Pete Davidson as Joey). In the lawsuit, Cummings-Ramone said that any “authoritative story of the Ramones” would require her sign-off: “To permit defendants alone to tell the authoritative story of the Ramones would be an injustice to the band and its legacy.”
Eight months later, with the earlier case still pending, Leigh is now on offense — claiming that Cummings-Ramone has infringed the band’s trademarks held by Ramones Productions by using them herself. His new case repeatedly takes aim at her use of the name “Linda Ramone” despite the fact that “Ramone” was not the legal surname of her late husband nor any other band member.
“Ramones are unique in many ways. One of which is that they are the only band of stature where all the members were not related but used the same last name as if they were,” Leigh’s lawyers write. “That made it easy for defendant to insert herself into the Ramones legacy as part of the family, the public spokesperson, and to associate her personal brand with Ramones, by using the name ‘Linda Ramone.’ Indeed, ‘Linda Ramone’ never existed while her husband, John Cummings was alive. Defendant increasingly adopted the name ‘Linda Ramone’ after Mr. Cummings died.”
The lawsuit claims that earlier legal proceedings and agreements have sharply restricted how Cummings-Ramone is allowed to use that name, but that she has repeatedly exceeded those limitations in her public persona because she is “unabashedly obsessed with portraying herself as the widow of Johnny Ramone” and as an “integral member” of the band.
“Ms. Cummings-Ramone presents herself to the world as ‘Linda Ramone’ and unilaterally adopts the mantle of designated Ramones spokesperson and ‘keeper of the legacy’,” Leigh’s lawyers write. “She intentionally gives the false impression that she is empowered to take the lead on, or unilaterally pursue, Ramones business.”
A representative for Cummings-Ramone did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday (Aug. 26).
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The auction of Damon Anthony “Dame” Dash’s stake in Roc-A-Fella Records now has a new twist as New York State claims he owes them millions in back taxes.
The legal battle over mogul Dame Dash’s share in Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records has another added twist, as a motion was filed in a federal court in Manhattan by New York’s Department of Taxation & Finance on Wednesday (August 21). According to reports, the motion was for the department to legally intervene in proceedings leading up to an auction of Dash’s share in the record label that will be conducted by the United States Marshalls Service in a Manhattan hotel on August 29. They claim that Dash owes $8.7 million in back taxes and penalties on income that he earned between 2005 and 2018.
“To date, the Department has been unsuccessful in its efforts to collect the unpaid New York State tax debt owed by Dash,” wrote attorneys for the state in the filing. “Intervening in this matter may be the Department’s only opportunity to collect some of the unpaid taxes Dash owes to New York.” The motion adds more complexity to the situation, as the share held by Dash (which totals 33.3% interest) is being auctioned off to fulfill a judgment in a lawsuit won by film producer Josh Webber. Webber sued Dash over a failed movie partnership and was granted $823,000.
However, the New York City’s Department of Social Services will receive the first share of proceeds from the auction as Dash owes $145, 096 in unpaid child support.
The tax department made it clear that its filing was not to supersede the social services department, but it also said that it had a lien against Dash’s Roc-A-Fella proceeds for over a decade. Jay-Z and Kareem “Biggs” Burke had tried to stop the auction from proceeding but were denied in February.
The opening bid of the auction will begin at $1.2 million, and Dash will receive any monies after the judgments are fulfilled, with his lawyer Natraj Bhushan claiming they “expect a robust auction with bids entering the several millions if not higher.” What is clear is that Mr. Damon Dash is allergic to responsibility,” Webber’s attorney Chris Brown stated in an interview. “I’m more interested in learning if New York State will file tax evasion charges against him or if he will be arrested at the upcoming auction. That is what I want to find out. Just my opinion.”
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In a video on social media, Russell Simmons blasted those “attacking” his celebrity friends who’ve made visits to his home in Bali.
The entertainment mogul Russell Simmons voiced his frustration with those questioning the celebrities that have come to visit him at his home in Bali, Indonesia where he moved to amid multiple accusations of rape and sexual abuse. “Black people, did you forget that I got 10,000 black men out of jail? … And that I registered more of you to vote than probably anybody you know?”, he said in an Instagram Live video which was shared by another account named Live Bitez on Tuesday (August 20). Simmons was seated in a basic yoga pose as he looked into the camera.
“And I worked for Black Lives Matter and every movement that’s helped our people — all the women’s rights and even gay rights movements that I did so much work for,” Simmons continued, “To let them demonize me in such a way that my friends cannot visit me without you attacking them — but yet you stand next to Donald Trump, knock it off.”
He paused before stating that he’ll be in New York City next week. “I call the paparazzi on myself every time I’m there. I have an office. … I’m there all the time. I work out of New York sometimes, but I live here. This is my last chapter. I live here to heal people … and to give them spiritual and mental rejuvenation.”
The 66-year-old then addressed the accusations directly, saying: “From what I can tell, Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, President Trump, all have more credible claims against them than I do if you ask Oprah [Winfrey]. I’ve never been charged with — who took nine lie detector tests? … Did Bill Clinton do that? Did Joe Biden do that? Did President Trump do that? Knock it off. I love you. I just don’t want my friends attacked … just leave my friends alone. Don’t attack them for visiting me. Attack friends for visiting Trump; he’s been convicted.”
Simmons has been living in Bali since 2017, and has recently been dealing with a few lawsuits accusing him of rape with the most recent being in February when a former music video producer sued him for allegedly attacking her in the 1990s. Several celebrities, including Taraji P. Henson, Usher, and MC Lyte have been pictured hanging out with the mogul in the past few months.
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: Taylor Swift’s legal options after Donald Trump falsely claims she endorsed him; a guilty plea for YoungBoy Never Broke Again on a federal gun charge; Mariah Carey’s arguments to dismiss a copyright case over “All I Want For Christmas”; and much more.
THE BIG STORY: Will Taylor Protect Her … Reputation?
When Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump posted AI-generated images to social media that falsely suggested Taylor Swift had endorsed him, many Swifties and Democrats asked the same question all at once: Can she sue him? After all, Taylor is no MAGA fan. In 2020, she urged her legions of fans to vote Trump out of office, blasting him for “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism” and endorsing then-candidate Joe Biden. The superstar hasn’t endorsed anybody yet in 2024, but you can be pretty certain that it’s not going to be Trump. But there it was: an AI-generated image of Swift herself, dressed up as Uncle Sam in the style of a World War II-era recruiting poster, bearing a clear message: “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.” At the top of the post, Trump himself responded to the apparent endorsement: “I accept!” Can Taylor file a lawsuit? On what grounds? And should she do so? Go read our full story here to find out.
Other top stories this week…
YOUNGBOY GUILTY PLEA – YoungBoy Never Broke Again (aka NBA YoungBoy) notified a judge that he would plead guilty to a federal gun charge that has seen him held under house arrest for more than two years while awaiting trial. But the deal won’t resolve dozens of newer charges in Utah over claims that he ran a “large scale prescription fraud ring” while living under house arrest. CLASS DISMISSED – Adidas AG won a ruling tossing out a class action that claimed the company violated U.S. securities laws by failing to warn shareholders about internal offensive behavior from Ye (formerly Kanye West) before the company split with him in 2022. Though the judge said she did not condone his “erratic, inappropriate, and antisemitic” behavior and said it was “troubling” that it had happened at Adidas, she ruled that the company’s actions didn’t rise to securities fraud: “The question before this court is not whether to admonish Ye or hold Adidas morally accountable for Ye’s conduct.” SAMPLE SETTLEMENT – Elsewhere in Kanye-world, the rapper reached a settlement in a copyright lawsuit that accused him of using an uncleared sample from the pioneering rap group Boogie Down Productions in his song “Life of the Party.” The case was one of more than a dozen such cases he’s faced during his career, including a high-profile battle with the estate of Donna Summer that settled earlier this year. GRACELAND SCAM – A Missouri woman named Lisa Jeanine Findley was arrested and charged with attempting to defraud the family of Elvis Presley and steal their ownership interest in Graceland. The alleged scheme is what led to the bizarre, largely unexplained incident that saw the famed Memphis mansion seemingly put up for auction earlier this summer. NO MORE YSL TRIAL? As Young Thug’s gang trial drags on in Atlanta, a Republican challenger to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis now says she will end the case if she’s elected. In a statement, Courtney Kramer said the trial against Thug’s YSL was designed to “bring fame” to Willis rather than “bring justice to the community,” and that it’s resulted in “endless amounts of taxpayer dollars” being spent “on a prosecution that is based almost entirely on witnesses with little to no credibility.” HIPGNOSIS SUES MANILOW – Hipgnosis Song Fund filed a lawsuit against Barry Manilow in U.K. court over bonus payments relating to its acquisition of the singer’s catalog four years ago, accusing the singer of breach of contract and other wrongdoing over a deal that saw the company buy the rights to 917 songs including “Mandy,” “Looks Like We Made It” and many others. CHRISTMAS CLASH – Mariah Carey asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit claiming she stole her perennial holiday classic “All I Want for Christmas is You” from an earlier song of the same name by songwriter Vince Vance. The star’s lawyers argued that the two songs share only “an unprotectable jumble of elements,” including “a title and hook phrase used by many earlier Christmas songs,” a series of “Christmas tropes” and other rudimental elements “scattered throughout these completely different songs.” RONDO DRUG PLEA – Rapper Quando Rondo pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to possess and distribute marijuana, resolving an indictment issued in December that saddled him with more extensive charges involving conspiracy to sell methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine. State gang and drug charges are still pending against him.
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