Kesha v Dr Luke defamation trial pushed back to July 2023

completemusicupdate.com:

The long running legal battle between Kesha and Dr Luke is now scheduled to get properly to court in July next year. A February hearing had originally been anticipated, but that has been pushed back because of ongoing appeals regarding some side issues that could impact on what needs to be proven when the defamation dispute gets to trial.Luke’s defamation lawsuit against Kesha is all that remains of what began as a multi-layered multi-state legal battle which was kickstarted when Kesha accused Luke of rape.

He denies those allegations and – arguing that Kesha’s claims have negatively impacted on his career – he sued for defamation.The side issues currently subject to appeal mainly relate to whether or not Luke has to show that Kesha acted with actual malice when making her allegations against him.

If he does, that would increase Luke’s burden in court and make it harder for him to win.The producer would have that obligation if the court considered him to be a public figure or if new free speech rules in New York state were applied retrospectively to lawsuits that were already in progress when they came into force, like this one.

However, the judge hearing the case previously decided Luke was not a public figure and that those new free speech rules should not apply.It’s those decisions – and another relating to whether the allegedly defamatory statements are protected by certain “litigation privileges” – that are being appealed.