A lawsuit that has gone on for three years has been declared over after roughly nothing happened. A judge in New York City awarded composer Jack Urbont the victory over rapper Ghostface Killah based largely on the fact that the emcee refused to take part in the lawsuit. Or, more accurately, couldn't be found to deal with the lawsuit, according to Pitchfork.
Urbont filed suit in 2011 after hearing Killah's sampling of his "The Iron Man Theme" from The Marvel Super Heroes cartoon show that aired during the '60s. In Killah's defense, Urbont waited 11 years after Supreme Clientele was released but the rapper didn't make any case for himself by largely ignoring the lawsuit.
It's not like Urbont wasn't trying: He hired a private investigator to track the performer down, unsuccessfully. He then got court permission to serve a publication notice. Things got more interesting when the lawyer for the former Wu-Tang member asked to be removed from the case, as Killah hadn't paid him and refused to discuss the matter. Ghostface, naturally, didn't attempt to hire a new lawyer.
Urbont gave up trying to make it a fair trial for his opponent and requested a default judgement, essentially a forfeit on the defendant's part because he refused to play ball. The judge agreed so now Ghostface will be stuck with whatever settlement the court decides upon. The statutory damages won't be more than $150,000 according to The Hollywood Reporter but as we're dealing with a pre-1972 recording, the issues at hand get that much more confusing. It may be a while before we find out what the cost is (Killah will also need to pay Urbont's legal fees).
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