Universal Music was contacted to respond to the filing request, but did not respond; the space remains open
Adele’s defense has submitted a million dollar request to the Rio courts as part of her music plagiarism trial Womenby Toninho Geraes. The singer’s lawyers asked in court for a deposit of R$1 million.
The sum would be necessary to cover the losses caused by the preliminary decision, issued by the court, requesting the withdrawal of the song Millions of years ago by digital platforms as it is considered plagiarism.
According to the artist’s lawyers, the sum would be necessary to “cover the losses already caused and those that could occur during the validity of the injunction”.
Toninho’s defense, put forward by lawyer Fredímio Biasotto Trotta, draws attention to the fact that the song has not yet been removed from the platforms. We also remember that requesting deposit in court is not a common practice in Brazilian justice.
“Regarding the infamy of the request made today, below the waistline limit, in addition to Universal’s insistence on filing undue petitions on behalf of the singer, producer and record company, the request for a deposit is completely unreasonable, because our courts do not require the provision of this type of guarantee when the probability of being entitled to it is high, in the event of an injunction, as is the case”, reads a statement sent to Estadao. Universal was contacted to discuss the case, but had no comment as of this article’s publication. The space remains open.
Again according to Toninho’s defense, the request for “bail” would constitute a “smoke screen” to divert attention from the composer’s complaints.
“What the defendants’ motion does not admit, but really intends, is to raise a smoke screen to divert the focus of the accusations in both civil and criminal matters, and, on the other hand, to try to intimidate the plagiarized composer with a figure absurd agreement by Adele, without any factual or legal support, in yet another repugnant bad faith litigation process will be promptly repudiated in documents, with a request for the application of the applicable sanctions”, yes reads in a statement.
Last week, Toninho’s defense filed a criminal complaint and an incident of procedural forgery after becoming suspicious of the signatures presented on the case documents. “The defense underlines that Universal Music remained silent, publicly and in the trial, on the crime news and on the episode of the false powers of attorney allegedly conferred by Adele, Greg Kurstin and Beggars Group, remaining silent in the face of the serious facts reported”, they explained the lawyers.
According to Trotta, the issue began with the absence of the singer, Kurstin and the Beggars Group executives at the conciliation meeting on December 19th. The lawyer specifies that the team representing the defendants at the hearing had offered powers of attorney to act on the case and that, on the document bearing Adele’s signature, there were signs of tampering with scribbles, scratches and handwritten lines.
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
