Rick Ross first brought a lawsuit against LMFAO for the inclusion of the line "everyday I'm shufflin'" from "Party Rock Anthem," a clear derivative from his own line "every day I'm hustlin'" from his single "Hustlin'" a year ago. Now the lawsuit has started to move forward and Ross's camp has an issue with LMFAO member Redfoo solely representing the hip-hop duo.
"With respect to Skyler Gordy's (Blu's) non-attendance, Plaintiffs are concerned about Stefan Gordy's (Redfoo) acting entirely in his stead in light of Skyler Gordy's deposition testimony that he was never apprised of pre-suit settlement offers by Plaintiffs and that one of the main reasons for the break-up of the musical duo was the fact that Skyler Gordy had not been kept apprised of pertinent matters," read a statement according to Billboard.
What Ross et al has to win from including fellow LMFAO member Sky Blu in the process isn't entirely clear...but his party seems to doing Blu a favor. The plaintiffs suggest that LMFAO's breakup was caused by Redfoo operating behind Blu's back, and that the latter emcee had said as much in depositions.
Corrupt operations may be the reason behind why Redfoo is taking all the responsibility here, but he may just not have a firm grasp on good legal strategy. When the lawsuit first came to light during 2014, he seemed to think that he could chat up Ross and get everything settled.
"I think it's a misunderstanding," he said. "I know if me and Rick got on the phone, if we met in person we would talk about some stuff...it'd be over, and I'm willing to do that."
Perhaps he hopes to just negotiate a settlement mano-a-mano without getting too many parties involved. That won't work...based on the number of charges Ross has brought. He's suing for copyright infringement (for the obvious musical borrowing) and trademark infringement (for using the aforementioned phrase on merchandise and creating "confusion" for fans). Even more relevant, Ross has also named Kobalt Music Publishing and Kia Motors (for using the song in a commercial). Those corporate interests is going to make sure everything is done by the book.
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