New York appeals court rules new free speech rules shouldn’t impact on Dr Luke v Kesha defamation case
completemusicupdate.comA New York appeals court has overturned a ruling made last year in the ongoing defamation legal battle between Kesha and producer Dr Luke which would make it harder for the latter to prove that he was defamed by the former, while also opening him up to a damages claim.That original ruling last year was based on new free speech laws in New York state, but the appeals court said last week that those new rules should not be applied retroactively so that they impact on active disputes.Luke’s defamation lawsuit against Kesha is all that remains of a long-running, multi-layered and quite complicated legal battle between the two former musical collaborators.At the heart of the wider legal battle was Kesha’s allegation of rape against Luke.
He denies that allegation, and in turn alleges that she only made that claim in a bid to force his hand in contract negotiations.
Hence the defamation action.In 2020, as the defamation case slowly worked its way through the system, the judge overseeing the proceedings ruled that Luke – as someone who mainly works behind the scenes in the music industry – was not a ‘public figure’.That was important because, under New York law, that decision has an impact on what needs to be proven in Luke’s defamation case.
If the producer is deemed a public figure, not only does he need to prove that Kesha’s rape claims are untrue, but also that they were made “with actual malice”.
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