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Kesha has dismissed a California lawsuit alleging sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of her longtime producer, Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald. The singer will continue to purse a similar case playing out in New York.
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The LA-based case had been on hold since June 2015, when Judge Barbara M. Scheper of the Los Angeles Superior Court stayed the lawsuit, citing New York as the proper venue, and that therefore lifting the hold would be unlikely, leaving Kesha’s career indefinitely in limbo unless dropped.
Monday’s dismissal comes as the singer refocuses her efforts on the New York legal batle, as well as moving her stalled music career forward through the release of new singles and a new album. Kesha’s attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, said that Kesha has delivered new material, recorded at her own expense, to Dr. Luke’s record label, Kemosabe, and Sony Music Entertainment, in order to fulfill her contractual obligations.
“Kesha has dismissed her California action without prejudice while she pursues her appeal and other legal claims in the New York courts,” Petrocelli said in an official statement. “Kesha is focused on getting back to work and has delivered 28 new songs to the record label. We have conveyed to Sony and the label Kesha’s strong desire to release her next album and single as soon as possible.”
Christine Lepera, an attorney for Dr. Luke, repsonded in a statement to Rolling Stone, “If Kesha is voluntarily dismissing her claims in the California case, it is because she has no chance of winning them. Earlier this year, she lost her meritless counterclaims against Dr. Luke in the New York Action. Recently, the California Court invited Dr. Luke and the other defendants to move to dismiss Kesha’s claims in that action. Kesha never should have brought her false and meritless claims against Dr. Luke in any court. Dr. Luke’s defamation and other claims against Kesha are still proceeding.”
Kesha’s career has been on pause since October 2014, when the “Tik Tok” singer first filed a lawsuit in California alleging that the mega-producer drugged and raped her, among other abuse, over a period of ten years. Gottwald’s team has vehemently denied the charges, filing a breach of contract suit against Kesha as well as countersuing for defamantion in what has gone on to be a complex legal back-and-forth spanning multiple states.
In April, New York Judge Shirley Kornreich dismissed Kesha’s request for an injunction that would have prevented Dr. Luke from interfering with the singer’s attempts to sign with another label while their legal battle plays out. Kornreich affirmed that freeing Kesha from her multi-album contract with Dr. Luke would cause irreperable harm to the record labels. She also ruled that Kesha’s abuse allegations could not move forward because they occurred outside the state and were beyond the statute of limiations. The singer is appealing both rulings.
Following performances this year at Coachella and the Billboard Music Awards, Kesha is currently on the road for her first full tour since her legal battles began with “Kesha and The Creepies: The Fuck the World Tour.”
Andrea Domanick is the West Coast Editor of Noisey. Follow her on Twitter.