Taylor Swift Is Being Sued and Aileen Cannon Is the Judge

Pop megastar Taylor Swift, who is currently still performing on her more than a year-and-a-half-long Eras Tour, has been accused of copyright infringement in a lawsuit in Southern Florida, where Judge Aileen Cannon is presiding over the case.

It’s not uncommon for musicians to face lawsuits accusing them of taking others’ work and Swift, one of the world’s bestselling artists, has dealt with accusations several times herself.

Kimberly Marasco, the plaintiff in a current case, has accused Swift of not properly giving her credit for lyrics and creative expression.

Swift’s legal team has denied the claims and attempted to get the lawsuit dismissed but, thus far, Cannon has rejected the requests.

In April, Marasco—of Fort Pierce, Florida—filed a lawsuit against Taylor Swift Productions Inc. The case moved from small claims court to the Southern District of Florida, a federal court, in May, where Cannon was assigned. Marasco is representing herself in court, a status known as pro se.

In the original small claims court filing, Marasco sought $100 in damages and writer’s attribution credit. Marasco’s second amended complaint, filed in October, requests more than $7 million in damages.

The case alleges that Swift’s songs and music videos have “creative elements” that copy Marasco’s work without authorization or credit.

In her complaint, Marasco cites several songs and videos from Swift’s albums Lover, Folklore, Midnights, and The Tortured Poets Dept, alleging they “infringe Plaintiff’s copyrights” by incorporating text from her poems. She lists over a dozen songs that allegedly “contain unique expressions” found in her poetry, Fallen From Grace and Dealing with Chronic Illness: Vestibular Neuritis.

Her complaint notes “strikingly similar” choreography too, “including a dance routine I choreographed using a chair.”

Newsweek has reached out to Marasco and Swift’s attorney and publicist for comment via email on Wednesday evening.

Swift’s legal team has filed two motions to dismiss the complaint, according to court documents reviewed by Newsweek.

The first motion was filed in late May, with her lawyers claiming the lawsuit is “legally and factually baseless.” Swift’s attorneys also argued that “any amendment to the Complaint would be futile” and asked the judge to deny requests to amend complaints. Swift’s attorneys also sought to make it so Marasco couldn’t refile her lawsuit if it was dismissed.

In September, Swift’s lawyers filed a second motion to dismiss, arguing that the plaintiff’s amended complaint “fails to state a claim.” To make a claim, her attorneys said Marasco needed to “plausibly allege” Swift copied protectable elements, which, they said, her complaint fails to do.

Marasco confuses “‘expression’ with metaphors, themes or ideas, and single words or short lines,” according to Swift’s lawyers.

“Even if these elements were protected expression (they are not), Plaintiff has still failed to plausibly plead unlawful copying—failing to show both access and any level of substantial or striking similarity between the works—for each of the thirteen counts of alleged infringement,” Swift’s lawyers wrote.

The defendant’s motion to dismiss was rejected by Cannon, who was appointed to the District Court in 2020 by former President Donald Trump, on September 19.

Cannon become a household name after being assigned to Trump’s classified documents case, which she dismissed earlier this year.

Two summons for Marasco’s amended complaint were issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida earlier this week, according to court documents.

Swift has been the subject of several other copyright infringement cases, including Hall v. Swift, which involved copyright concerns over the chorus lyrics of Swift’s hit song “Shake It Off.” The five-year dispute was dismissed before trial after the plaintiffs and defendant reached a settlement in 2022.

Another case, La Dart v. Swift, which was filed in 2022, alleged that Swift’s “Lover” book “included a number of creative elements that copied the expressive designs and arrangements,” of the plaintiff, Teresa La Dart. The case was voluntarily dropped by La Dart.

The lawsuit from Marasco was filed before Swift publicly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in her White House bid. She announced she was backing the Democratic nominee following the September presidential debate between Harris and Trump, who is the Republican nominee.

Days after her endorsement, Trump posted on Truth Social, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”

Swift has repeatedly encouraged her massive fan base to register to vote. In 2020, she endorsed Democratic candidate Joe Biden for president after not endorsing either Trump or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Cannon reportedly appears to be a potential candidate for attorney general if Trump is elected to the White House, according to ABC News.