Did Sam Smith and Normani receive an unfair judgement?
Should they be reimbursed for the massive amount they shelled out to win a lawsuit thrown against them out of the blue?
According to Billboard, a federal judge is refusing to order Sam Smith and Normani's accuser to reimburse their legal fees, which the artists claim totaled more than $700,000.
Sam Smith, Normani Win Copyright Lawsuit
This comes six months after the duo won a copyright lawsuit over their 2019 hit song "Dancing With a Stranger."
Smith and Normani have maintained that they shouldn't have to pay the fees they expended in order to defend themselves against the "frivolous and unreasonable" lawsuit, which alleged that their song "Dancing" plagiarized an unknown song from 2015.
No Bad Intent?
Although the complaint was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Wesley L. Hsu last year, he decided on Monday, March 18, that the case was not totally without merit, so the accuser shouldn't be punished by having to pay the stars' enormous legal bill.
"Plaintiff's claims were neither frivolous nor objectively unreasonable," the judge wrote, describing the lawsuit as a "close and difficult case" on a "contentious area of copyright law."
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The complaint against the stars was filed as a "gamble," as claimed by Smith and Normani's attorneys, with "hopes for a massive payout."
However, Judge Hsu stated on Monday that there was "no evidence" of such intentions by the accusers.
In other words, the suit was filed in good faith and even if the accusers lost, they should not be punished for just going after what they thought they were due.
"Dancing" Plagiarized Issue
Songwriters Jordan Vincent, Christopher Miranda and Rosco Banlaoi filed the lawsuit in 2022, claiming that their 2015 song "Dancing" was "strikingly similar" to the song by Smith and Normani.
They claimed that the song's copying was "beyond any real doubt."Judge Hsu, however, stated in September that there was actually a great deal of uncertainty.
The judge found that Smith and Normani's request for an expedited decision terminating the litigation was granted, stating that the songs were not similar.
Attorneys for Smith and Normani filed a montion in an October asking for $732,202 in legal fees saying that Vincent, Miranda, and Banlaoi's action was precisely the kind of frivolous lawsuit that ought to be discouraged.
They contended that in an effort to promote false copyright claims could harm all musicians, the songwriters and their attorneys.
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