A judge has dismissed Dr. Dre‘s $3.05 million lawsuit for unpaid royalties against his former record label, Death Row Records.
The music mogul, real name Andre Young, was seeking royalties for revenue the label earned from his music while it was under Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
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According to court documents obtained by TheWrap, Dre claimed $676,444 in licensing royalties, $1.2 million for artist and producer royalties, and just under $1.2 million for digital sales of music produced or performed by him.
In his 30-page dismissal decision, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Vincent Zurzolo said that Dr. Dre could not use an agreement between himself and Death Row Records that preceded the bankruptcy period as sufficient grounds to claim new royalties.
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“To prove an administrative expense claim, a claimant must show that such a claim: (1) arose from a transaction with the debtor-in-possession as opposed to the preceding entity … and (2) directly and substantial benefitted [Death Row Records]. Young argues that post-petition royalties are afforded essentially an automatic administrative expense claim,” the decision read.
“There is no post-petition transaction, post-petition use, or a right to payment from DRR,” the judge decided.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.