Rick Ross accuses Redfoo of delaying tactics in lawsuit

US rapper and mogul Rick Ross is accusing Redfoo of delaying talks aimed at settling his lawsuit against the artist and X Factor Australia judge’s project LMFAO.

Last January, Ross launched a copyright infringement suit against LMFAO, the Los Angeles-based duo made up of Redfoo (Stefan Gordy) and his nephew Sky Blu (Skyler Gordy). He claimed they took the line “Everyday I'm shufflin'" in their 2010 hit Party Rock Anthem from "Everyday I'm hustlin'" from his debut single Hustln’. He maintained LMFAO even delivered the line the way he did and were trying to capitalise on the success of his track.

Party Rock Anthem topped the charts in 13 countries, including Australia and the United States, and sold 9.7 million copies digitally. In Australia, where it stayed at #1 for ten weeks, it was certified 15x Platinum and is the biggest selling single of all time in this country.

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Aside from being included in the 2012 movie 21 Jump Street, it was also used in ads in America by Kia Motors and Virgin America airlines, in South Africa by Vodacom and in Indonesia by Toyota.

At the time of Ross launching his lawsuit, Redfoo told the media, "I think it's a misunderstanding. […] I know if me and Rick got on the phone, if we met in person we would talk about some stuff […] it'd be over, and I'm willing to do that."

It has not been that simple, however. Ross initiated mediation talks for next week with the duo to see if they can settle the issue before it went to court. But Redfoo stated that he alone will attend the mediation (without Sky Blu), and will represent the other co-defendants that Ross named in his lawsuit. These include Kobalt Music Publishing, ad agency David & Goliath and automaker Kia Motors America.

Redfoo insists that, “The other defendants will be looking to him to either resolve the matter or to continue to litigate."

Ross is not happy with this arrangement. He claims that Redfoo is just keeping Sky Blu out of the loop. He wants both to appear in person so they can jointly agree to whatever settlement is struck and for Sky Blu to be able to protect his own interests. He also wants Kobalt, David & Goliath and Kia to attend the meeting as well, given that their being named in the lawsuit “represents a large damages part of the case.”

In reports by TMZ and The Hollywood Reporter, Ross also contends that Sky Blu claimed in a deposition that LMFAO really broke up because Redfoo kept him in the dark.