Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Taylor Swift By Quoting Her Lyrics

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Taylor Swift By Quoting Her Lyrics

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty

It’s too bad that the United States leg of Taylor Swift’s 1989 World Tour is over, because a California judge just proved herself eminently worthy of joining Taylor’s squad. Earlier this month, as CNN reports, little-known R&B singer Jesse Braham, aka Jesse Graham, filed a pretty dumb copyright lawsuit against Swift, claiming that 92% of the lyrics to “Shake It Off” were stolen from his song “Haters Gone Hate“: “Haters gone hate, playas gone play. Watch out for them fakers, they’ll fake you everyday.” Today, United States District Court Judge Gail Standish dismissed the case based on a lack of factual evidence, duh. But, more importantly, she managed to work a ton of references to Taylor Swift lyrics into her conclusion: “At present, the Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court,” Standish wrote. “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 Band-Aids will not fix the bullet holes in his case. At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.”

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