The $15 million lawsuit that pop-punk band Yellowcard filed against late rapper Juice WRLD has been put on hold, The Blast reports. Court documents obtained by the outlet reveal that a Los Angeles judge has ordered the case to be put to the side for the time being. As of right now, no one has been appointed as the executor of the late rapper's estate, and the case will not be able to continue until then.
"The action is stayed pending the appointment of a representative for the estate of Defendant [Harad A.] Higgins by the probate court," the docs read. "The parties shall file a status report re: the probate proceedings no later than April 13, 2020."
Yellowcard filed the lawsuit in October of last year, prior to Juice WRLD's death in December. The band alleged that his 2017 single "Lucid Dreams" infringed on their copyright, claiming the song takes "melodic elements" from "Holly Wood Died," off their 2006 album Lights & Sounds. Yellowcard's attorney, Richard Busch, later said the band still planned to move forward with the lawsuit shortly after the rapper died following a seizure.
"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 reads. Busch and Yellowcard added that there's further proof of infringement because Juice WRLD was a fan of Fall Out Boy, who worked closely with Yellowcard.
“Specifically, in a published interview, Defendant Juice WRLD stated that he had a crush on a girl in fifth grade who was “really Emo,” the suit continued. "At the time, the girl mentioned that she really enjoyed Emo pop rock, which is the precise genre of “Yellowcard’s” music.”
In January, Juice WRLD's death was ruled an accidental overdose.
