Jacques Levy: Last News

Thania Garcia A New York appeals court has rejected the lawsuit including Bob Dylan that claimed the singer-songwriter was in debt to the estate of one-time collaborator, Jacques Levy, for a portion of his Universal catalog sale.Dylan sold the rights to his song catalog to Universal Music Publishing Group in December of 2020 for a price sources place at nearly $400  million.A month later, Claudia Levy — the widow of songwriter Jacques Levy — claimed Levy’s estate was entitled to a $7.25 million share of the UMG deal under an agreement dating back to 1975. The late Levy contributed as a co-writer of “Hurricane” and nine other songs on Dylan’s 1976 album, “Desire.” Last August, a judge ruled that Levy had signed away his co-ownership rights under an employee-for-hire situation that had granted complete ownership to Dylan; Levy asked the courts to overturn that ruling late last year, arguing that this was “the ultimate attempt to rewrite Levy out of Dylan’s history.” Dylan’s attorneys responded to the request to overturn by describing the case as an “opportunistic attempt” at an “unjustified windfall.”On Tuesday, New York’s Appellate Division affirmed the judge’s original ruling, stating: “The parties’ agreement is unambiguous, and does not entitle plaintiffs to proceeds from the sale of the copyrights of the compositions cowritten with Dylan.”Dylan’s attorney, Orin Snyder of the law firm Gibson Dunn, told Billboard: “Today’s decision puts the nail in the coffin of this opportunistic lawsuit.

for a cut of his song-catalogue sale.Claudia Levy failed in her bid to overturn a previous Manhattan ruling that tossed her lawsuit seeking a portion of the money Dylan made when he off-loaded his catalogue to Universal Music Group in 2020. Levy had argued that her late husband Jacques Levy’s estate was entitled to 35 percent of the profits Dylan made when he sold the seven songs her husband collaborated on him with for the legend’s 1976 album “Desire.”But an appeals court Thursday found that Jacques Levy’s contract with Dylan was “unambiguous, and does not entitle plaintiffs to proceeds from the sale of the copyrights of the compositions cowritten with Dylan.”Levy – who died in 2004 – co-wrote the majority of the nine songs on the album with the “Blowin’ in the Wind” singer, for which he had received 35 percent royalties totaling roughly $1 million.His widow brought her the $7.25 million lawsuit against Dylan last year.“Today’s decision puts the nail in the coffin of this opportunistic lawsuit,” Dylan’s lawyer, Orin Snyder, said in a statement. “We are pleased the court has again rejected this sad attempt to profit off of Bob’s recent catalog sale.”Claudia’s lawyer did not return a request for comment.

Bob Dylan and Universal Music Group are being sued for $7.25 million.The 79-year-old legend sold the rights to his entire song catalogue - which includes songs that span his 60-year career -to the label in December for over $300million.But Claudia Levy, the wife of the late Jacques Levy, has claimed her spouse's estate have not received any money from the deal and is now taking Dylan and Universal to court.