Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams‘ attorneys ripped Marvin Gaye’s family as well as the $7.4 million judgement against their clients in the “Blurred Lines” trial, which deemed that Thicke and Williams’ No. 1 hit did infringe upon the copyright of Gaye’s song “Got to Give It Up.”
In a new court document obtained by TheWrap on Thursday, Thicke’s lawyer Howard King accused the Gaye family of “improper” and “unfair tactics” in what they characterize as an attempt to undermine the verdict.
“This case is far from over. It is merely entering a new phase,” King writes.
The legal response requests that the court strike two motions filed this week by the Gaye family: one seeking an injunction to stop any further distribution or sales of “Blurred Lines” and another asking that the verdict be changed to also hold collaborator T.I., Interscope, Star Trak Entertainment, UMG Distribution and Universal Music Recordings liable for the copyright infringement. Thicke’s attorney called both motions “groundless.”
“There is no urgency to any of the relief the Gayes have requested,” the document states. “On March 10, 2015, the verdict was read, no party objected to the verdict, and the jury was discharged.” The document objects to the Gaye family’s attempt to “entirely overturn the jury’s verdict” and also include T.I. and the Interscope parties who the jury found did not infringe.
Thicke’s attorney also alleges that the Gaye family’s attorneys have attempted to “circumvent the normal procedure for post-trial motions to the court.”
Paul Philips, lawyer for Marvin Gaye III, fired back at Thicke’s response in a statement to TheWrap: “The nature of Mr. King’s response comes as no surprise … In every sense of the phrase, the Thicke parties are backed into a corner legally and are fighting desperately to get out. As for our recent filings, they were made in strict conformity with the court’s mandates, and we’re confident in the ultimate positions we have taken.”
The document also goes on to argue that the Gaye family’s motion for an injunction jumps the gun, presuming that their other motion to amend the verdict will be granted.
Calling both the trial and verdict “fundamentally flawed” and referring specifically to the verdict as “an abject miscarriage of justice, unsupported by the evidence and contrary to law,” Thicke’s attorneys suggested the Gaye family is asking the Court to “pre-judge” and “resolve” all of the Thicke parties’ motions before they have been able to file their own motions with the court, citing the Gaye family attorneys’ “slapdash approach to post-trial issues.”
Thicke’s attorneys requested a status conference to be set for the week of Apr. 6, 2015, for all parties to discuss motions and procedural issues.
Hollywood's Most Outrageous Lawsuits (Photos)
Between Lindsay Lohan firing back at Fox News, Mariah Carey allegedly short changing her domestic help, and Sly Stone winning millions after suing his ex-manager -- stars often turn to the courts to address their squabbles and strife.
Lindsay Lohan filed suit against Fox News and Sean Hannity on Feb. 2, 2015, after a news correspondent accused Lohan's mom of snorting cocaine with her troubled daughter. It didn't take long for Fox to fire back. “We will defend this case to the fullest,” the network told TheWrap the next day.
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A former nanny for Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon filed a lawsuit on Jan. 28, 2015, alleging she was fired after showing the couple's kids too much affection and did not receive overtime pay despite working 100 hours per week.
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Legendary funk artist Sly Stone won $5 million on Jan. 27, 2015, after suing his former manager and entertainment attorney for misappropriating royalties owed him for more than 20 years.
Former “Real Housewives of Orange County” executive producers Patrick Moses and Kevin Kaufman filed a suit against Bravo in Nov. 2014, claiming they were deceitfully ousted from the show and bilked out of millions of dollars after helping to create the show and the franchise.
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Jessie Nizewitz, a contestant on VH1’s “Dating Naked,” filed suit in New York in Aug. 2014, seeking $10 million in damages for emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment after the show allegedly failed to properly blur her genitals.
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Octavia Spencer was awarded $940,000 in Dec. 2014 after claiming a weight loss company, Sensa Products Inc., wrongfully fired her from an endorsement deal and still owed her money.
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Former Tinder executive Whitney Wolfe filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former company June 2014, alleging she was repeatedly called a "whore" by CMO Justin Mateen and was stripped of her co-founder title simply for being a woman.
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Former TMZ producer Jarrett Gaeta slapped his former employer with a lawsuit in June 2014, claiming he was wrongly terminated. Gaeta was let go after a subordinate accused him of "racist behavior," including defending blackface and sending pictures of watermelons to African-American employees.
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CNN America was sued in Aug. 2014 by a pair of plaintiffs who claim that correspondent Arwa Damon bit one of them and threatened both during a drunken altercation at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
"Boardwalk Empire" actress Paz de la Huerta sued Lionsgate in Aug. 2014 claiming she was run over by an ambulance while filming "Nurse 3D." Lionsgate filed a motion to dismiss, which De La Huerta opposed on Jan. 23, 2015. Lionsgate then opposed her opposition on Jan. 30, 2015, in a seemingly neverending loop of opposing motions.
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Rapper Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP Rocky, was sued in civil court in June 2014 for allegedly assaulting a woman while making his way through a crowd during the 2013 Made in America Festival.
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Nicki Minaj’s former hairstylist and wig designer filed a $30 million lawsuit against the rapper in 2014 for allegedly stealing his wig designs and costing him a potential reality show. A judge later dismissed the case for lack of sufficient evidence.
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West filed suit against YouTube founder Chad Hurley on Oct. 31, 2013, claiming he posted a video of the couple’s surprise engagement to his website without permission. The process was delayed when Hurley’s reps filed an anti-SLAPP motion in an attempt to have the case dismissed.
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Jahmel Binion filed a lawsuit against Shaquille O’Neal in July 2014 when O’Neal posted a photo to his Instagram account mocking Binion, who suffers from a rare condition that causes facial abnormalities, sparse hair and missing teeth. Binion claimed defamation, emotional distress and invasion of privacy in the $25,000 lawsuit, and after pressure from the public O’Neal apologized.
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In 2014 singer Chris Brown was mentioned in a lawsuit filed by the cousin of artist Frank Ocean. The defendant claimed Brown and an associate allegedly kicked and punched him when he confronted them about parking in a spot designated for Ocean at a Los Angeles recording studio. Ocean, who was also injured, later said he wouldn't seek criminal or civil penalties.
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From embezzlement to slander, there’s no shortage of celebrity court action
Between Lindsay Lohan firing back at Fox News, Mariah Carey allegedly short changing her domestic help, and Sly Stone winning millions after suing his ex-manager -- stars often turn to the courts to address their squabbles and strife.