Sony challenges court demand in Kesha case

Sony Music Entertainment is challenging a New York judge’s ruling to hand over interviewee identities in the defamation case involving Kesha and producer Lukas “Dr. Luke” Gottwald.

Dr. Luke is suing the singer for US$50 million in Manhattan Supreme Court for defamation after she claimed he sexually assaulted her.

Justice Jennifer Schecter said that Sony must divulge the names of the witnesses it interviewed in its investigation of Kesha’s sex assault allegations.

Kesha’s legal team demand details of the investigation, which was conducted for the record company by law firm Gibson Dunn.

The judge added that these interviews were not protected by attorney-client privilege.

But Sony is trying to reverse this demand saying that Kesha is also suing the company and therefore it does not want to reveal the information as it “would reveal attorney thought processes and legal strategy.”

“Sony’s investigation is not merely a set of materials prepared in anticipation of litigation,” Sony says in its motion, “but was instead a collection of decisions reflecting legal strategy, undertaken only after Kesha filed a complaint, for the purpose of developing Sony’s legal defense, investigating the truth of Kesha’s allegations, and providing legal advice to Sony.