Taylor Swift is being sued and Eileen Cannon is the judge

Pop megastar Taylor Swiftwho has been performing at it for over a year and a half now Era Tourwas accused of copyright infringement in a lawsuit in South Florida where a judge Eileen Cannon conducts business

It’s not uncommon for musicians to face lawsuits accusing them of appropriating other people’s work, and Swift, one of the most popular female artists in the world, has dealt with the allegations several times herself.

Kimberly Marasco, the plaintiff in the current case, accused Swift of improperly crediting her for her lyrics and creative expression.

Swift’s legal team is denying the claims and is trying to get the lawsuit dismissed.

In April, Marasco, of Fort Pierce, Florida, filed a lawsuit against Taylor Swift Productions Inc. In May, the case was transferred from small claims court to the federal court for the Southern District of Florida, where Cannon was assigned. Marasco represents himself in court, a status known as about myself

In the original small claims court filing, Marasco sought $100 in damages and credit to the author. Marasco’s second amended complaint, filed in October, seeks more than $7 million in damages.

The lawsuit alleges that Swift’s songs and music videos contain “creative elements” that copy Marasco’s work without authorization or credit.

In his complaint, Marasco cites several songs and videos from Swift’s albums a lover, Folklore, At midnightand Department of martyred poetsclaiming that they “infringe the plaintiff’s copyright” by including text from her poems. She lists more than a dozen songs that allegedly “contain unique expressions” in her poetry, Fallen from grace and Fighting a chronic disease: vestibular neuritis.

Her complaint also notes “extremely similar” choreography, “including a dance routine that I choreographed using a chair.”

Newsweek reached out to Marasco and Swift’s attorney and publicist for comment by email Wednesday night.

Swift’s legal team filed two motions to dismiss the complaint, according to court documents reviewed by Newsweek.

The first motion was filed in late May, with her lawyers arguing that the lawsuit is “legally and factually without merit.” Swift’s lawyers also argued that “any amendment to the complaint would be futile” and asked the judge to deny the request to amend the complaint. Swift’s lawyers also sought to prevent Marasco from re-filing her lawsuit if it was dismissed.

In September, Swift’s attorneys filed a second motion to dismiss, arguing that the plaintiff’s amended complaint “lacks a claim.” To file a claim, her attorneys said Marasco needed to “plausibly allege” that Swift copied protected elements, which they say her complaint fails to do.

According to Swift’s lawyers, Marasco confuses “utterance” with metaphors, themes or ideas, as well as single words or short lines.

“Even if these elements were protected expression (they are not), Plaintiff still has failed to plausibly establish unlawful copying—showing neither access nor any level of substantial or striking similarity between the works—on each of the thirteen counts of alleged infringement. Swift’s lawyers wrote.

The defendant’s motion to dismiss was denied by Cannon, who was appointed to the circuit court in 2020 by former President Donald TrumpSeptember 19.

Cannon rose to prominence after being assigned to handle Trump’s classified documents case, which she withdrew earlier this year.

Earlier this week, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida served two subpoenas in Marasco’s amended complaint, according to court documents.

Swift has been involved in several other copyright infringement cases, including Hall v. Swiftwhich involved copyright issues with the lyrics to the chorus of Swift’s hit “Shake It Off.” The five-year dispute was settled in court “according to the agreement of the parties”, the decision of the court, revised Newsweekstated Presiding Judge Michael Fitzgerald dismissed the case “in its entirety and with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be brought back to court.

another case, La Dart vs. Swift, which was filed in 2022, claimed that Swift’s book The Lover “included a number of creative elements that copied the expressive design and arrangement” of the plaintiff, Therese La Dart. La Dart voluntarily dropped the case.

Marasco’s lawsuit was filed before Swift publicly endorsed the vice president Kamala Harris in his proposal to the White House. She announced her support for the Democratic nominee after the September presidential debate between Harris and Trump, who is republican nominee

Days after her endorsement, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”

Swift has repeatedly encouraged her huge fan base to register to vote. In 2020, she supported the candidate from the Democratic Party Joe Biden for the presidency after not endorsing either Trump or the former secretary of state Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Cannon is reportedly a potential candidate for attorney general if Trump is elected to the White House. ABC News.

Update 10/25/24 6:45 PM ET: This article has been updated to clarify the dismissal in Hall v. Swift.