I recently reported on the lawsuit filed by the widow of Desire co-writer Jacques Levy, seeking a portion of the profits from Dylan’s $300 million-plus catalog sale to Universal Music.
Now Dylan (or at least his lawyers) have responded to the accusations, claiming in a New York court filing that Levy was working under a work-for-hire contract, meaning he would receive royalties but not a portion of copyright sales.
Levy’s widow, Claudia, was seeking $7.25 million from the sale’s proceeds for her late husband’s work on Desire, which is my No. 3-ranked album by Dylan, and features the song “Hurricane,” about the legal issues faced by boxer Rubin Carter.
But Dylan’s legal team from Gibson Dunn argue that Levy is trying to double dip, stating in the document that the suit was “an opportunistic attempt to re-write a 45-year-old contract to obtain a windfall payment.” They further stated that Universal was responsible for maintaining any royalty payments that were due, but not a share of the copyright sale.
Levy’s contributions certainly helped make it the great record that it is, and my sentiments are that the estate should get something from the sale as well. I expect this will be quietly settled for much less than the $7.25 million the estate is seeking.
Here is Dylan’s court filing.