United States District Court Judge Gail Standish dismissed a $42 million plagiarism lawsuit against Taylor Swift filed by musician Jesse Braham on Tuesday.
The lawsuit alleged that the pop-star's hit track "Shake It Off" had stolen lyrics from his song "Haters Gone Hate," as HNGN previously reported. But the judge wasn't convinced with the complainant's argument and tossed out the lawsuit by quoting the starlet's own lyrics.
"At present, the Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court," Standish wrote, according to CNN. "But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure Braham can solve them. As currently drafted, the Complaint has a blank space - one that requires Braham to do more than write his name. And, upon consideration of the Court's explanation...Braham may discover that mere pleading BandAids will not fix the bullet holes in his case. At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit."
Braham's lawsuit claimed that the lyrics in the "Shake It Off" chorus - "Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate" - were stolen from his track, which includes the lyrics, "Haters gonna hate / players gonna play," according to USA Today.
"If Jesse Braham did not write the song Haters gone hate, then Taylor Swift would not have written a song called Shake It Off," alleged the lawsuit, which has been dismissed for the time being. In legal terms, the suit has been "dismissed without prejudice."
