Kesha & Dr. Luke Court Battle: Judge Dismisses Claims Against Singers Mom

Neither Kesha‘s mother nor her manager will face any charges in New York pertaining to Dr. Luke‘s lawsuit against the singer.

Kesha V. Dr. Luke

Dr. Luke filed a lawsuit in late 2014 claiming that Kesha had lied about him raping her in an effort to bail on a recording deal. He also claimed that Kesha’s mother, Pebe Sebert, and her manager, Vector Management’s Jack Rovner, urged Kesha to get out of the recording deal with him.

Additionally, Dr. Luke alleged that Sebert is guilty of defamation for supposedly orchestrating a smear campaign that suggested that he had sexually abused Kesha.

As for Rovner, Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, claimed in a plaintiff memorandum that there had long been animosity between him and the manager.

“In numerous conferences regarding Kesha’s career which were attended by Gottwald, Rovner and third parties, Rovner made suggestions regarding creative and business matters which Gottwald rejected,” the memorandum reads. “Rovner, who is the former head of a record label and is used to being treated as ‘the boss,’ was enraged by these perceived slights by Gottwald. The fact that third parties witnessed them made Rovner even angrier. This was far more than Rovner’s ego could take; accordingly, Rovner now hates Gottwald.”

New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich was not convinced by the arguments made by Dr. Luke’s camp, reported Billboard. She granted Sebert’s motion to dismiss the charges against her. Kornreich also dismissed the charges against Rovner.

“Although Plaintiffs allege that Rovner hates and is jealous of Gottwald, that is not enough,” the judge wrote. “The cases require a showing that the agent acted outside the scope of his authority, in bad faith, and committed an independent tort. Even assuming hatred and jealousy amount to bad faith, they are not torts.”

Although the day in court was a win for both Sebert and Rovner, neither are out of the woods just yet. Sebert will be forced to face the same charges in a Tennessee court, while Dr. Luke is considering appealing the judge’s dismissal of his claims against Rovner.

Kesha, who would like to record outside of Dr. Luke’s control, is currently seeking a preliminary injunction in her case.