Kesha’s Mother Dismisses Dr. Luke Counterclaims
Kesha‘s ongoing dispute with producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald continues to play itself out in court, but one aspect of the ongoing and multi-state legal battle is coming to an end. As Entertainment Weekly reports, Kesha’s mother, Pebe Sebert, has dropped her counterclaims against the producer.
The multiple suits, which involve Kesha alleging that Dr. Luke sexually abused and drugged her and the producer claiming that the pop star is using the allegations as a ploy to get out of her recording contract, is taking place in three different states: New York, Tennessee and a paused suit in California.
In 2014, Dr. Luke filed suit against Pebe Sebert in Tennessee on claims of defamation and “tortious interference” with her daughter’s contract. Dr. Luke’s Tennessee suit was filed in conjunction with a similar one the producer filed in New York following the singer’s initial suit and allegations. The Tennessee suit seemed to be a precautionary measure should the New York suit be dismissed on claims that Sebert did not live in New York; Sebert does business in Tennessee.
As EW points out, in response, Sebert filed counterclaims of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress based on Kesha’s alleged abuse. Additionally, she claimed misrepresentations and fraudulent inducement stemming from an alleged promise from Luke that she would be involved in her daughter’s career. On Tuesday, Sebert dismissed the counterclaims.
“Pebe Sebert’s voluntary withdrawal of all her claims against Dr. Luke is her acknowledgement that her claims are meritless,” Christine Lepera, Dr. Luke’s attorney, said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “Dr. Luke’s defamation and other claims continue against Pebe and Kesha Sebert.”
“The litigation with Dr. Luke has been a nightmare for Mrs. Sebert and her family,” Alex Little, Pebe Sebert’s attorney, said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “She has decided to move on and find peace and forgiveness in her heart rather than dwelling in the cancerous past of an ongoing lawsuit with no end in sight.”
On April 6th, a New York judge dismissed all but one claim Kesha filed in her countersuit against Dr. Luke and Sony Music and she will not be allowed to amend the filing. The judge ruled that she didn’t feel that Dr. Luke had carried out a hate crime nor did she feel that Kesha sufficiently proved that he intentionally tormented her. The one claim that is still in contention involves Kesha’s contract. After Dr. Luke sued Kesha for breach of contract, Kesha claimed that the contract was nullified. The judge did not rule on this claim.
Kesha will soon appear on a released song for the first time since a judge denied her release from her Sony contract. Her collaboration on Zedd’s track, “True Colors,” will be released on Friday.
The Kesha and Dr. Luke case is still pending.