Sue Me! 5 Major Lawsuits That Have Been Filed Because of Drake
Mo' money, mo' problems, eh, Drake? Maybe we're going out on a limb here. But, we're gonna go ahead and guess that, just a few years ago, you had exactly zero lawsuits filed against you. And yet, here you are—young, rich, famous, successful, living the dream—and seemingly everyone wants a piece of the pie. Most recently, the owner of the Dollhouse Lounge in Oklahoma City filed a lawsuit against you after you and your entourage allegedly got his club shut down by smoking weed in the VIP section one night in early March. Sometimes, being the man just isn't all it's cracked up to be, right?
Unfortunately, this is starting to become something of a trend. You're not exactly spending every single day in court. But, over the course of the last year or two, you've been sued—or had someone else sued because of you—on a number of occasions. Like we said, everyone wants a cut of what you're making. So, in light of your most recent lawsuit, we put together a list of 5 prominent lawsuits that have been filed because of you. We're not sure what advice we'd give you here, but we do know that you'd better have a strong team of lawyers surrounding you. Otherwise, all that money you're making right now is gonna end up in somebody else's hands.—Chris Yuscavage
5 PROMINENT LAWSUITS THAT HAVE BEEN FILED BECAUSE OF DRAKE
DRAKE 1
The Lawsuit: Playboy Enterprises vs. Drake, Cash Money Records, Universal Music Group, and Universal Music Group Distribution
Why It Was Filed: PE owns the rights to the 1975 song, "Fallin' In Love," by Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Dennison, which they claimed was sampled on Drizzy's breakthrough hit, "Best I Ever Had." So, they sued Drake, Cash Money Records, Universal Music Group, and Universal Music Group Distribution for copyright infringement in June 2010.
How It Turned Out: An official figure wasn't announced. But, Drake and his record label were eventually forced to settle with Hugh Hefner out of court. Drake's song went all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold more than 500,000 copies, though, so we're sure that helps Drake sleep better at night.
DRAKE 2
The Lawsuit: Ericka Lee vs. Drake
Why It Was Filed: Lee, who claims she's Drizzy's ex-girlfriend, is the girl who appears on his hit song, "Marvin's Room." Earlier this year, she said that she co-wrote the song and that she's owed royalties because of all the success that the song had.
How It Turned Out: The official verdict is still out on this lawsuit. But because the song was so successful, we wouldn't be shocked if Lee got some sort of settlement. Unless, of course, she signed something that will hold up in court.
DRAKE 3
The Lawsuit: Rihanna vs. Kodak
Why It Was Filed: What in the world does a Rihanna lawsuit have to do with Drizzy? Well, it seems Drake appeared in a Kodak commercial in late 2010 that featured him taking photos and then sending them to Rih-Rih. But, her name was used in the commercial without her knowledge, so she decided to consider a lawsuit against the company.
How It Turned Out: To the best of our knowledge, this lawsuit was either never filed or was settled outside of court, because we never heard about it again after 2010. Part of that might have had to do with the fact that Rihanna herself once took part in a Kodak campaign, which was very similar to the one Drake appeared in. But, whatever the case, this thing never made it to a judge.
DRAKE 4
The Lawsuit: Done Deal Enterprises vs. Lil Wayne, Cash Money Records, Young Money Records, and Universal Music Group
Why It Was Filed: Okay, okay. So this one wasn't directed at Drake. But, it still had a lot to do with him. A Georgia-based company claimed that Lil Wayne—and his Young Money cohorts, including Drake—stole the song "Bedrock" from them and sought out a $15 million settlement for copyright infringement in August 2011. The track was the first single from Young Money's debut album, We Are Young Money.
How It Turned Out: Lil Wayne has been called to court to answer to the lawsuit. But he hasn't had to pay anything yet. Drake also wasn't named in the suit, so he won't have to pay. But, it's clear that his involvement in the song—as well as Nicki Minaj's involvement—is what caused the song to become such a big deal and why Done Deal asked for such a large settlement. We'll have to wait and see how it all turns out.
DRAKE 5
The Lawsuit: The owner of Dollhouse Lounge in Oklahoma City vs. Drake
Why It Was Filed: A March 1, 2012 party featuring Drake got shut down immediately after employees of the club smelled marijuana coming from the VIP section where Drizzy & Co. were located. Police had to be called to usher people out and they found a half-burnt marijuana cigarette in the club and arrested the club manager as a result of it. She was ticketed and released.
How It Turned Out: This one is still TBD. Drizzy hasn't had to go to court or anything yet. But the club owner is only asking for a few thousand dollars for all the trouble, so we wouldn't be surprised to see this one settled out of court. Let's hope this is the last lawsuit Drake gets hit with for awhile.
