Kesha’s Mother Drops Counterclaims Against Dr. Luke
Pebe Sebert had accused the hitmaker of causing her distress and lying about how she would be involved in her daughter's career.
The dispute between Kesha Rose Sebert and her producer Dr. Luke (Lukasz Gottwald) is hardly over, but the producer has now dodged claims brought by Kesha’s mother Pebe Sebert.
Kesha and Dr. Luke continue to square off with each over her allegations that she was sexually abused and his allegations that she is attempting to repudiate a recording agreement. So far, he’s gotten the upper hand. A New York judge rejected her bid for a preliminary injunction and earlier this month, dismissed all but one of her counterclaims.
The litigation is taking place in three states. Besides what’s happening in New York, there’s also a paused California lawsuit brought by Kesha as well as a battle between Dr. Luke and Pebe in Tennessee.
In the Tennessee action, Dr. Luke is suing Pebe on claims of defamation and tortious interference. According to the complaint, Kesha schemed with her mother to elevate a contract disagreement into a “smearing” of Dr. Luke and when alleged extortion failed, circulated emails to bloggers and others in the industry accusing Dr. Luke of rape.
In response, Pebe filed counterclaims of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress based on the alleged abuse directed at Kesha. She also claimed misrepresentations and fraudulent inducement by asserting that Dr. Luke had promised that she would be involved in her daughter’s career including as a songwriter.
On Tuesday, Pebe voluntarily dismissed those counterclaims. She’s also recently split with attorney Mark Geragos.
“Pebe Sebert’s voluntary withdrawal of all her claims against Dr. Luke is her acknowledgement that her claims are meritless,” says Christine Lepera, attorney for Dr. Luke. “Dr. Luke’s defamation and other claims continue against Pebe and Kesha Sebert.”
The denial of the preliminary injunction is now going up to a New York appeals court while Dr. Luke’s attorneys plan to depose Kesha and Pebe in June. In the California case, a status conference is upcoming that may determine whether a stay is lifted.
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