Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeal in TVT/Def Jam Case

Today (June 26) the Supreme Court decided not to hear an appeal in a case involving a dispute between Island Def Jam and TVT records over an album recorded by Ja Rule when he was a member of Queens, New York group Cash Money Click. The case, which TVT won back in 2003, alleged that IDJ actively attempted to prevent the release of the album although it was recorded when Rule was under contract with the label. At that time, TVT was awarded $132 million in punitive and compensatory damages after a court sided with them over Def Jam and Lyor Cohen, who was IDJ chairman at the time. Last year, New York's Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision and substantially reduced the monetary compensation initially awarded to TVT. In this latest appeal, TVT's attorneys had sought to have the Supreme Court review the case and have the 2nd Circuit Court's decision overturned.