Judge dismisses lawsuit against Bad Bunny for alleged unauthorized sample

A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit filed against Bad Bunny, which alleged the unauthorized use of a sample in a song from his hit album Un Verano Sin Ti. The decision ends the case after the plaintiff stopped moving forward in the legal process. The lawsuit had been filed by the Nigerian artist Dera, whose real name is Ezeani Chidera Godfrey. The musician claimed that the song "Enséñame a bailar" included a fragment of his song "Empty My Pocket", released in 2019, without the corresponding permission.

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However, federal judge Otis Wright ruled on Monday that the case should be closed after the plaintiff failed to respond within the time frame set by the court. The deadline to continue with the process was March 6, but the artist did not file any legal action before that day. Due to that lack of response, the magistrate ordered the dismissal of the case "with prejudice," a legal term that implies that the lawsuit is definitively closed and cannot be brought before the court again. The lawsuit had been filed in May by Dera along with his record label, emPawa Africa, who maintained that the alleged sample not only appeared in fragments of "Teach Me to Dance", but was present throughout the entire song. However, the process lost momentum after the plaintiff's lawyers, from the law firm Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP, withdrew from the case in January citing irreparable differences with their clients over the legal strategy. Following their departure, neither the artist nor the label continued with the legal proceedings, which ultimately led the court to dismiss the lawsuit.