NEW ORLEANS – The Rolling Stones have filed a motion to dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit against them by a Spanish guitarist who claims that they stole his work for their record "Living in a Ghost Town."
The original lawsuit was filed on March 10, 2023, by plaintiff Sergio Garcia Fernandez, professionally known as "Angelslang," in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Michael Phillip Jagger, professionally known as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, collectively known as The Rolling Stones, Universal Music Group, Inc. BMG Rights Management, LLC, and Promopub B.V., citing copyright infringement.
According to Fernandez, a resident of Spain who performs under the stage name of Angelslang, he gave a demo CD of his music to a close family relative of Jagger in 2013. Fernandez's attorney, DaShawn Hayes of the Hayes Law Firm PLC, claims to have an email from this unidentified family member stating that Jagger purportedly said that The Rolling Stones would be interested in using the sound and style of the plaintiff's music in their work. Fernandez claims that The Rolling Stones would later use his music to help create their 2020 record "Living in a Ghost Town" without his consent.
The defendants argue that the case should be dismissed because the venue is improper since none of the defendants reside in the district. They argue that a court in the UK would be more appropriate since they have of a presence in Europe. The attorney for the defendants adds that should the court not dismiss the case, the case should be transferred to the Southern District of New York because the defendants do business there and can actually be found there. The attorney adds that the only connection to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana is the plaintiff's attorney is based in New Orleans.
The defendants are represented in this case by attorneys Ashley J. Heilprin, Mary Ellen Roy and Dan Zimmerman of Phelps Dunbar LLP and Ross J. Charap, Oscar A. Figueroa, Matthew L. Finkelstein, and Eric Roman of ArentFox Schiff LLP.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana case number 2:23-CV-00891