FUSE TV - Kesha May Have an 'Uphill Battle' Against Dr. Luke: A Legal Expert Weighs In

It's no secret that Kesha's trial with producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald (who she claims physically, verbally and sexually abused her for years) has caught the attention of the media. From various #FreeKesha protests to artists like Lady Gaga and Adele publicly supporting the singer, the legal battle has sparked feelings of outrage, suspicion and confusion. But once you strip the case from its celebrity foil and turn away from the Twitter reactions, what is truly going on in the court of law?

To try and parse through the latest Kesha news, we talked to Oved and Oved LLP's litigation chairman Darren Oved, who has worked on deals with clients including Tiësto and Rebecca Minkoff. Oved spoke to Fuse about the Kesha trial, including the possible effect of the judge's injunction denial, the public outcry in support of Kesha and what he thinks the outcome may be.

FUSE: Kelly Clarkson recently made a statement that her record label blackmailed her into recording with Dr. Luke. Will that have any affect on Kesha’s case?
OVED: Legally no, but this is really not a legal case. This is becoming a case that is being tried in the court of public opinion—it’s more of a public relations issue than a legal issue.

Is the "forced" collaboration between Kesha and Dr. Luke considered a crime of some sort? She is claiming that she cannot make records with anyone else besides the producer.
But those are not statements. Generally these types of relations are a product of an agreement that the parties negotiate between themselves. So at some point in time before [this case], she and her lawyers and he and his lawyers drafted and agreed upon an exclusive distribution agreement. It was a production agreement where she would only utilize his services to produce records. So for her to claim subsequently that this was a product of force is going to be looked at very suspiciously by the court, as evidenced by the fact that the judge refused to order the injunction earlier.

Speaking of the injunction, is Kesha able to appeal it, even if the trial will still be going on after this denial?
Sure. The injunction was basically asking for immediate relief at the beginning of the case—as opposed to while the trial goes on, if the court finds that indeed Kesha is correct or sides with her, then they can issue a ruling then. But it denied the initial release she was seeking at the front of the case without any evidence to substantiate her claims of abuse.