Photo Credit: Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock
Following their triumph in a copyright lawsuit related to their 2019 hit “Dancing With a Stranger,” Sam Smith and Normani sought reimbursement for their substantial legal expenses, which reportedly exceeded $700,000. However, a federal judge recently denied their request, asserting that the plaintiffs should not be held responsible for covering the stars’ legal bills.
The lawsuit, filed in 2022 by songwriters Jordan Vincent, Christopher Miranda, and Rosco Banlaoi, alleged that “Dancing” bore significant resemblance to their 2015 song of the same name. Despite the judge dismissing the case last year, ruling in favor of Smith and Normani, the court determined that the plaintiffs’ claims were not frivolous or objectively unreasonable. Judge Wesley L. Hsu emphasized that the lawsuit presented a contentious matter in copyright law, making it a “close and difficult case.”
While winners in copyright lawsuits often recover legal fees, Judge Hsu found that the plaintiffs’ conduct did not warrant deterrence. He acknowledged that the defendants’ attorneys aggressively litigated the case, but deemed their arguments for reimbursement as generic reasoning that could set precedents for future lawsuits. Consequently, the judge ruled that Smith and Normani could only recover a fraction of their legal costs, totaling $10,173.
Both parties’ legal representatives have yet to comment on the recent ruling.
