Limp Bizkit is allowed to move forward with their October lawsuit against Universal Music Group that alleges the label deliberately withheld as much as $200 million in royalties.
A federal judge denied the label’s motion to dismiss a case that will assess allegations made by the nu metal band and vocalist Fred Durst against UMG — these claims rang from breach of contract to fraudulent concealment, fraudulent business practices, copyright infringement and more.
More specifically, Limp Bizkit claims UMG “designed and implemented royalty software and systems that were deliberately designed to conceal artists’ royalties and keep those profits for itself.”
UMG filed its motion to dismiss the lawsuit in November, claiming that the lawsuit, and specifically the alleged concealment of royalties, was “fiction.”
Judge Percy Anderson determined on March 17 that the band’s ancillary claims should be adjudicated in state court, meaning Limp Bizkit’s camp will soon be re-filing the original lawsuit, according to documents reviewed by Variety. UMG is being asked to file its answer to the copyright claims by no later than April 7.
In their original lawsuit, Limp Bizkit, which hit the peak of its popularity in the late 90s and early 2000s, claims that it’s not the only group to be stiffed on royalties and that possibly hundreds of other artists have also suffered from this model. Durst claimed that he had previously been informed by UMG that the band had yet failed to recoup the $43 million advance paid to them by the label (his own Flip Records under the Interscope/Geffen/A&M label umbrella).
Durst is also seeking to terminate its contracts with UMG on behalf of Limp Bizkit and Flawless Records. In a January ruling, Judge Anderson denied Durst‘s first attempt to have these contracts voided.
