Drake just notched a win in his ongoing legal fight with Universal Music Group (UMG). On Wednesday, April 2, a judge shut down UMG’s attempt to pause all discovery—the process where both sides exchange info and documents. UMG had claimed Drake was unfairly asking for “highly commercially sensitive” stuff, but Judge Jeannette Vargas wasn’t buying it.
“There’s only one defendant here, so there’s no reason to stop discovery,” Vargas said, according to Inner City Press. She added that UMG can still object to specific requests if they don’t like them. “The motion to stay discovery is denied.”
That said, the judge hasn’t decided on UMG’s bigger request to throw out the whole case. She scheduled a hearing for June 30 to dig into that one.
Drake’s lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, was quick to celebrate the ruling. “Now it’s time to see what UMG was so desperately trying to hide,” he said in a press release.
So, what’s this all about? Last month, UMG argued Drake was overreaching by asking for things like the pay details of Interscope Records CEO John Janick and even Kendrick Lamar’s contract. They called it off-limits. Gottlieb fired back to Billboard, saying, “UMG’s just trying to delay handing over documents they want to keep buried. If they’ve got nothing to hide, what’s the problem?”
This isn’t the only move UMG’s made. They also filed to dismiss Drake’s lawsuit entirely, claiming it’s baseless. “Drake lost a rap battle he started, and instead of brushing it off like he usually does, he’s suing his own label to feel better,” their lawyers wrote. They want the case tossed out for good.
Gottlieb didn’t hold back on that either. “UMG’s acting like this is just about a rap beef to dodge the real issue: they’re a greedy company profiting off dangerous misinformation that’s already sparked violence,” he said. “This is them scrambling to avoid accountability, but we’re confident the truth will come out.”
For now, Drake’s got the upper hand as discovery rolls on. What secrets might come to light? Stay tuned.
