Kesha claims partial victory in legal battle against Dr. Luke, New York court dismisses producer's extortion complaint against singer's mother

Singer Kesha has claimed a partial victory in her legal battle against former producer Dr. Luke whom she alleged sexually assaulted her in 2014. A New York judged dismissed Dr. Luke's lawsuit against Kesha and her mother, in which he claims the mother-daughter pair extorted him.

Jezebel reported that the judge set aside Dr. Luke's lawsuits against Kesha, her mom Pebe Sebert and manager Jack Rovner. In his complaint, the producer alleged that Kesha's mother tried to coerce him to liberate the "TiK ToK" singer from her contract with Kemosabe Records, a label under Sony Music.

New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich granted Sebert's motion to dismiss Dr. Luke's for lack of jurisdiction over the defendant's person. Defendant Sebert, in her argument, stated that the injury at issue in the lawsuit did not occur in New York and that she is not a party to the forum selection clause stipulated in Kesha's contract with her label.

Moreover, the court ruled that Kesha's original complaint against Dr. Luke should be heard first, NME noted Thursday. In 2014 Kesha initiated a lawsuit against Dr. Luke, claiming that she suffered "mental manipulation, emotional abuse and sexual assault" from the producer.

More specifically, Kesha was allegedly drugged by Dr. Luke during a trip after which he "forced himself on her." She supposedly woke up "naked in Dr Luke's bed, sore, sick... and with no memory of how she got there."

Kesha has been on hiatus since the lawsuit as her contract with Dr. Luke and Sony Music prevents her from creating and releasing music outside of their agreement. According to AOL, Kesha is scheduled to appear in court again later this month for a hearing on whether she can be allowed to restart her music career outside Kemosabe Records.

The Daily Mail reported that when the singer filed a preliminary injunction request in late Oct. 2015, she claimed that her career will be "effectively over" if she cannot release new music as soon as possible.

Universal Records executive Jim Urie filed an affidavit in favor of Kesha, stating the singer has not been "recording, touring, or able to market merchandise for nearly a year."

Kesha music production was for Pitbull's 2013 track "Timber."

Tags

Kesha, Dr. Luke, music lawsuit, New York, United States, Sony Music, contract termination, sexual abuse

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