Judge Denies Most of Love’s Claims

In an apparent first-round victory for music conglomerates, a Los Angeles judge denied most of the arguments presented in rock star Courtney Love’s attempt to break her contract with Vivendi Universal.

Superior Court Judge Fumiko Wasserman denied 11 of 15 causes of action listed in Love’s lawsuit, including her challenge to a provision in California’s seven-year-statute that could have paved the way for recording artists to become free agents.

The judge allowed Love to proceed with four claims against Vivendi, including her challenges to industry accounting practices and a provision that allows record companies that own contracts to sell them without musicians’ consent.

Wasserman gave Love 28 days to file an amended complaint citing new evidence to support her argument that standard recording contracts unconscionably cheat artists.