Appeals Court Denies Kesha to Get out of Dr. Luke Deal

Kesha is still entangled in her ongoing legal battle with former producer Dr. Luke (real name Lukas Gottwald) after accusing him of sexual and emotional abuse in 2014.

On Tuesday (May 29), the appeals court showed no sympathy for the singer by denying her latest bid to get out of her contract with Gottwald. The singer was attempting to appeal the court's March 2017 decision that prevented her from filing a countersuit against Dr. Luke's defamation suit. That appeal was denied.

"Kesha's proposed amendments are palpably insufficient and devoid of merit," the Appellate Division, First Department said in a ruling. "Her counterclaim seeking declaratory relief terminating the agreements on the ground of impossibility and impracticability of performance was speculative, contradicted by her own allegations that she had continued performing under the agreements and, as to at least one of the agreements, the impossibility was not produced by an unanticipated event that could not have been foreseen or guarded against."

Kesha's attorney argued that she should be able to apply a California law known as the Seven Year Rule, which caps the enforcement of personal service contracts after a set period, to get out of her contract. That attempt was rejected, too.
"The court also properly denied Kesha leave to assert a counterclaim for declaratory relief terminating the agreements on the ground that they violate California Labor Code § 2855, as the unambiguous New York choice-of-law provisions contained in the agreements preclude the application of that California statute," the ruling stated.

"Kesha will keep fighting to be released." says her lawyer.