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Yellowcard have withdrawn their copyright infringement lawsuit against the estate of late rapper Juice WRLD, it was announced today (July 28).
The pop-punk band, who disbanded in 2017, had filed a complaint in October 2019 claiming the rapper, who died in December 2019, plagiarised parts of their 2006 song ‘Holly Wood Died’ in his hit song ‘Lucid Dreams’.
Yellowcard highlighted alleged sonic similarities between the two songs and were suing for damages, past and present royalties for the song and profits from Juice WRLD’s tours.
Listen to ‘Lucid Dreams’ below:
Per the New York Times, Yellowcard have dismissed the multimillion-dollar lawsuit without prejudice, which means they can refile the lawsuit again if they decide to.
Yellowcard’s attorney, Richard S. Busch shared a statement to Pitchfork: “The dismissal was without prejudice, which means it can be refilled [sic]. My clients really were uncomfortable about pursuing this action against Juice WRLD’s grieving mother as the representative of his Estate.
“As they said previously, they also are incredibly sympathetic about his death and were torn initially about pursuing this in light of his death. As a result of all that has happened, they simply need additional time to decide what they want to do.”
In a statement issued to Pitchfork, Christine Lapera, attorney for the Juice WRLD estate said, “Defendants were fully prepared to defend against the allegations -viewed as without merit- and remain so prepared should it become necessary. There was no settlement or consideration whatsoever for Plaintiffs’ voluntary dismissal.”
- Read more: Juice WRLD, 1998-2019 – the NME obituary
Proceedings for the lawsuit had been halted in December 2019, after Juice WRLD died from an accidental overdose at the age of 21, before recommencing just over a week later.
In February a stay was put in place again until Juice WRLD’s estate could appoint an administrator, later announced as the rapper’s mother Carmela Wallace.
The case was paused again in April due to the coronavirus pandemic, before a recommencement was announced earlier this month.
Juice WRLD’s posthumous album ‘Legends Never Die’ was released July 10. It has since broken records, landing at number one on the UK album chart. and gaining 422.63million streams in the first week of its release. Juice WRLD became the third artist in US chart history to have five songs from one album in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.
Collaborative singles between Juice WRLD and Trippie Redd and The Kid LAROI have also been released since the rapper’s untimely death.
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