Dr Luke is claiming that Kesha’s sexual assault allegations against him cost him $46million (£33.5m) in lost business opportunities.
The filing marks the latest development in their ongoing legal feud, which began when Kesha initially sued the producer, real name Lukasz Gottwald, in 2014 and claimed he had sexually assaulted and emotionally abused her.
According to court documents via The Hollywood Repoter, a damages model drawn up by the producer’s financial expert, Arthur Erk, alleges there were lost business opportunities, with particular emphasis on how the original rape accusation in 2014 allegedly cost Dr Luke income from producing Katy Perry’s most recent albums.
Erk notes that Dr. Luke earned $26.7million (£19.5million) from working on Perry’s first three albums and says it is reasonable that he would have earned $11.65million (£8.5million) more on her next three.
His overall calculation is $46,253,672 (£33,70,363) in damages, including a projection of lost revenue through to 2024.
But Kesha’s own expert, Louis Dudney, is refuting the claims and criticised Erk for failing to look more deeply into the issue of causation.
While Erk measures how Dr Luke’s career has stalled in general, Dudney argues there may have been damage from accusations before Kesha accused him publicly.
He also alleges the economic damages analysis from Erk is “speculative and unreliable.”
Defending Erk’s work, Dr Luke’s lawyers claim there is no authoritative standard preventing an expert from assuming causation and that Dudney should be precluded from providing this critique at trial.
They also argue that Dudney failed to do his own economic model and he has a lack of experience in the music industry.
In addition, they criticised some of the opinions he offered at deposition, including that another producer, Max Martin, was largely responsible for Dr Luke’s success.
New York Justice Jennifer Schecter will oversee a hearing tomorrow (October 28) where both sides will make their respective arguments about evidence and testimony at the forthcoming trial.
A firm date for the main trial is yet to be set.
Back in April, Kesha was denied an appeal of a legal ruling that she defamed Dr. Luke, after the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the producer does not qualify as a “public figure”.
The ruling, from New York Supreme Court Justice Schecter, also stated that Kesha will have the right to file a counterclaim to Gottwald’s defamation suit.
The post Dr Luke claims he lost $46million over Kesha’s sexual assault allegations appeared first on NME.
