Punk Rock band Yellowcard will move forward with their $15 million lawsuit against Juice WRLD ,despite the artist's death, according to court documents obtained by XXL,
Juice's death did however, sway the court to extend a portion of the case. Originally, Juice WRLD and the other defending parties had until by Dec. 9 to respond to the suit. In light of Juice's passing, the court has extended the deadline to Feb. 4.
During a recent conversation with Digital Music News, Yellowcard's attorney, Richard Busch, claimed that he and his clients filed the motion to extend the hearing.
"We’re still digesting the news," Busch said about the rapper's death.
In October, Yellowcard filed the lawsuit claiming that Juice WRLD's smash record, "Lucid Dreams," bore similarities to the band's 2006 single, "Holly Wood Died." Yellowcard's William Ryan Key, Peter Michael Mosely, Longineu Warren Parsons, and Sean Michael Wellman-Mackin believe that the song copies exact "melodic elements" from their track.
"The high degree of objective similarity between the Original Work and the Infringing Work extends well beyond the possibility of coincidence and could only reasonably be the result of an act of copying," the lawsuit states.
Yellowcard and Busch also point to Juice WRLD's fondness for Fall Out Boy as proof of the infringement. Juice WRLD went on record claiming that Fall Out Boy's From Under the Cork Tree album was a musical influence. The album was produced by Neal Avron, who also produced the Yellowcard album that features "Holly Wood Died."
King & Ballow, the law firm representing Yellowcard, issued the following statement regarding the suit.
"First of all, we were as shocked and saddened by Juice WRLD’s death as everyone else. It is a tragic loss to his family, his fans, and to the music world at large, and we understand why people may be confused about the decision to continue with this lawsuit. My clients are certainly torn about proceeding, and understand the optics involved. But it is important to remember that this lawsuit was filed before this tragic event, and was filed because all of the defendants (and there are 2 other writers and several music publishers and record labels), profited off of what we believe was clear copying and infringement of Yellowcard’s work. We have an expert report making that clear. So while they are absolutely aware of how this may be perceived, and truly have incredible mixed emotions, the question is whether it is fair that all of those many parties profited, and will continue to profit, off of what my client’s believe strongly was their work. We should also mention that it has been falsely reported that Yellowcard is demanding a specific amount of damages. They are simply seeking what the law allows, and what parties in their position have sought in similar cases, which at this point is not determined."
Along with Juice WRLD, the song's co-writer Taz Taylor, Taylor's publishers Taz Taylor Beats and Artist 101 Publishing Group, publishing administrator, Kobalt Music Services, producer Nicholas Mira and his publishers, BMG Rights Management, as well as Juice WRLD's two record labels, Grade A Productions, and Interscope, are named in the lawsuit.
