Mary J. Blige has won dismissal of the lawsuit filed against her by former friend and stylist Misa Hylton.
In a ruling entered Tuesday, a New York judge spiked the case and issued a stern warning after Hylton ghosted a deadline to defend her serious allegations that Blige had attempted to poach a musician from her management roster.
Judge Phaedra F. Perry-Bond said Hylton’s failure to respond to Blige’s motion to dismiss “constitutes the abandonment” of her claims. The judge stopped short of ordering sanctions but made it clear she was frustrated.
“The court in no way condones parties filing lawsuits claiming millions in damages based on inflammatory accusations, only to have those very same parties abandon their allegations when faced with a motion to dismiss and sanctions,” the judge wrote. “Plaintiffs and their counsel shall consider this a warning to refrain from engaging in similar patterns of behavior in the future. This written warning may serve as weighty evidence on a future application for sanctions if plaintiffs and/or their counsel continue to engage in similar bad faith litigation tactics.”
Hylton, an up-and-coming stylist who was dating Sean Combs when she began working with Blige in the early 1990s, helped style the singer during the promotion of Blige’s 1992 hit album What’s the 411? The women became friends, but any real love between then ended when Hylton filed her lawsuit on April 29.
In the complaint, Hylton accused Blige of trying to “coerce” Harlem rap artist Vado, whom Hylton was managing, into terminating his management agreement. Hylton alleged that Blige sought to move the artist to her own company, Beautiful Life Productions, where he also had a recording contract.
Hylton alleged Blige and her representatives “intentionally excluded” her from meetings with Vado that were held in “intimate and inappropriate” settings such as “late night yacht outings” and hotel rooms. She claimed the defendants “purposefully sabotaged” her relationship with the musician.
In her motion to dismiss, Blige and her lawyers said Hylton has no case. They said Hylton’s company, M.I.S.A. Management, wasn’t a valid corporation, and Hylton wasn’t a licensed talent agent, as required by law. They further claimed Hylton, who shares a son with Combs, filed her lawsuit with the “sole purpose of harassing and causing malicious injury to [Blige] based on Hylton’s personal animus towards Ms. Blige.”
Vado, named in the lawsuit as Teeyon Winfree, was listed as a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit. According to the complaint, he alleged Blige refused to release his music and owed him at least $5 million for breach of contract.
Before filing the motion to dismiss, Blige’s legal team, including Sarah M. Matz and high-profile music industry litigator Lisa Moore, sent a letter demanding “immediate withdrawal” of the “baseless” claims. The lawyers said their “simple review” of a state database determined Hylton’s company was not a “duly organized New York corporation,” so M.I.S.A. Management would “not be able to prove that it has a valid agreement sufficient to satisfy the first element of tortious interference with contract claim.”
The letter also said Winfree’s own actions caused delay in the release of his music. They alleged the artist failed to deliver marketable music because “none of the consents and clearances were delivered despite multiple requests.” They further claimed Hylton already has been paid more than she was owed because she allegedly took a commission on more than $300,000 paid to Winfree that was recoupable under his recording contract. The letter further included a text messaged allegedly sent by Winfree in which he purportedly mentioned he was considering “firing” Hylton on his own.
Hylton, Winfree, and their lawyer did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. Winfree, who formed the hip-hop duo U.N. with fellow artist Cam’ron in 2009, previously posted some of his musical collaborations with Blige on his Instagram.
