French Montana settled a lawsuit over his 2022 song “Blue Chills” on Wednesday (July 31). According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, singer-songwriter Skylar Gudasz voluntarily dismissed her complaint after suing Montana for not paying for his sample of her 2020 track “Femme Fatale.” Billboard first reported the settlement.
“IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED by and among the undersigned attorneys for Plaintiff Skylar Gudasz (‘Plaintiff’), on the one hand, and Defendants Karim Kharbouch a/k/a ‘French Montana,’ Rory William Quigley a/k/a ‘Harry Fraud,’ Coke Boyz, LLC a/k/a ‘Coke Boys Records,’ Montana Entertainment, LLC, Fraud Beats, Inc., Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC (incorrectly sued as Sony Music Entertainment Inc.) and Vydia, Inc. (collectively, ‘Defendants’), on the other … is hereby dismissed with prejudice, with each party to bear his, her or its own costs, attorneys’ fees and expenses,” lawyers for both sides informed a North Carolina court.
Gudasz sued Montana for copyright infringement and unfair/deceptive trade practices in 2023. She claimed Montana never finalized a deal to sample “Femme Fatale” before he released “Blue Chills.”
The plaintiff said she agreed to clear the sample in exchange for a 50 percent share of the copyright for “Blue Chills.” Gudasz’s proposed compensation also included more than $7,000 in upfront fees and .08 percent of the master royalties.
“Despite repeated promises from Defendants and DMG [Clearances], no signed agreement, fees, royalties, licensing agreements or monies have ever been sent to Plaintiff or received by Plaintiff, indicating Defendants were wrongfully repudiating an agreement and wrongfully infringing on Plaintiff’s copyrights to her musical composition and sound recording,” Gudasz’s lawyer Alan Toll wrote.
Gudasz’s lawsuit sought no less than $75,000 in damages. Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed.
“Blue Chills” appeared on Montana and producer Harry Fraud’s Montega album. The project peaked at No. 46 on the Billboard 200.
