Universal Music Group is again clapping back at Drake in the legal fight over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”
UMG Files Motion to Dismiss Texas Pre-Action Petition
On Thursday (Jan. 23), lawyers for UMG filed a 144-page motion requesting the dismissal of Drake’s pre-action petition filed in Texas last November, which accuses the music conglomerate of defamation and colluding with iHeartRadio in a payola scheme to artificially inflate K-Dot’s chart-topping diss song. UMG is calling for the dismissal of the case to The Texas Citizens Participate Act, which protects citizens from retaliatory lawsuits that seek to silence them from expressing freedom of speech.
UMG argues that Drake has failed to provide proper evidence of his claims that they defamed him by distributing “Not Like Us,” a song that labels Aubrey a child predator.
“Petitioner [Drake] requests to depose both iHeartMedia and UMG to investigate the relationship between iHeartMedia and UMG,” the filing reads.” But Petitioner does not describe why a deposition of both iHeartMedia’s corporate representative and of UMG’s corporate representative would be necessary to investigate any alleged agreement between iHeartMedia and UMG respecting “Not Like Us.” Without such explanation, Petitioner has failed to establish any likely benefit of a pre-suit deposition of UMG, let alone show that the benefits outweigh the burdens.”
UMG is asking the judge to dismiss the case and requesting reimbursement of legal fees. The case is set to be heard in Bexar County Court on Jan. 28.
Read More: The Wildest Accusations in Drake’s 81-Page Defamation Lawsuit Against UMG
Drake Sues UMG in Federal Court
Last November, Drake filed two similar pre-action petitions against UMG, which is his and Kendrick Lamar’s parent record company. The Canadian rap star filed a petition in New York, which he has since withdrawn, that accused UMG and Spotify of using bots and pay-for-play to boost K-Dot’s Drake diss. The aforementioned Texas petition accused UMG of doing the same thing with the help of iHeartRadio, as well as defamation.
On Jan. 15, Drake filed a defamation lawsuit against UMG in federal court over “Not Like Us.” UMG responded to the suit, telling XXL in part: “We have not and do not engage in defamation—against any individual. At the same time, we will vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more that write a song.”
At least some legal experts say Drake will have a tough time proving his case in court.
