According to a published report by Hollywood trade magazine Variety, Limp Bizkit is allowed to move forward with their lawsuit against Universal Music Group. The lawsuit alleges the label deliberately withheld as much as $200 million in royalties from the band since UMG acquired LB’s original label, Flip Records. The claims against the music company range from breach of contract to fraudulent concealment, fraudulent business practices, copyright infringement and more. In a decision filed on March 17, and reviewed by Variety, Judge Percy Anderson ruled Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst will have to refile a majority of his claims in state courts (California or New York). The Judge also denied UMG’s motion to dismiss the band’s allegations of copyright infringement, allowing those claims to proceed in his federal court.
The ruling on Monday states the assessment of the copyright claims will depend on whether or not the band can successfully rescind their contracts with UMG, thus regaining ownership of the copyrights. Judge Anderson previously denied Durst‘s first attempt to have these contracts voided in a January ruling, however, his latest decision will reopen that debate.
The issue of rescission will require an analysis of state law in both New York and California courts, “involving facts and law that are distinct from those necessary to adjudicate the copyright claim,” according to the March 17 document. Despite these complexities, UMG is being asked to file its answer to the copyright claims by no later than April 7.
Limp Bizkit originally claimed UMG “designed and implemented royalty software and systems that were deliberately designed to conceal artists’ royalties and keep those profits for itself.” UMG filed its motion to dismiss the lawsuit in November, claiming that the lawsuit, and specifically the alleged concealment of royalties, was “fiction.”
Durst claims that the Flip Records, which initially signed the band in 1996 prior to the Interscope deal in Dec. 2000, disclosed to him that they were receiving millions of dollars due to recent renewed interest in the band (“millions of streaming users per month on Spotify alone,” his lawyers wrote). Durst’s attorneys also say the label did end up giving the band $1.03 million and $2.3 million went to Durst’s own Flawless Records. They believe they are owed more.