NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — The widow of a songwriter who worked with Bob Dylan sued the legendary recording artist, alleging he refused to properly share profits from the blockbuster sale of his catalog to Universal Music Group in December.
Claudia Levy, widow of the late Jacques Levy, filed suit in a New York court, claiming that Dylan, whose real name is Robert Zimmerman, and UMG failed to compensate her for her husband’s work on Dylan’s 1976 album “Desire.”
According to the suit, seven of the nine songs on the album, including hits such as Hurricane,” “Romance in Durango,” “Catfish,” “Money Blues,” and “Rita Mae,” were written by Jacques Levy in collaboration with Dylan.
Per the suit, Jacques secured an agreement in or around 1975 that entitled him to “Thirty-five (35%) percent of any and all income earned by the Compositions and actually received by [the Dylan Defendants] from mechanical rights, electrical transcriptions, reproducing rights, motion picture synchronization and television rights, and all other rights therein.”
Pursuant to the agreement, Claudia Levy is seeking $1.75 million for the song rights, as well as $2 million in punitive damages to “deter similar conduct from happening in the future and to punish the Dylan Defendants for their malfeasance.”
Orin Snyder, an attorney for Dylan, told the New York Daily News that the Levys have already been compensated before the catalog sale.
“This lawsuit is a sad attempt to unfairly profit off of the recent catalog sale. The plaintiffs have been paid everything they are owed,” Snyder told the newspaper.
