Drake Files Reply Brief at Second Circuit, Says Dismissal of 'Not Like Us' Defamation Case Was Reversible Error
Drake's legal team at Willkie Farr & Gallagher filed a reply brief on April 17 at the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, arguing that Judge Vargas committed 'reversible error' by relying on materials outside the complaint and drawing adverse factual inferences against Drake when she dismissed the case in October 2025. The original lawsuit accused UMG of knowingly publishing and promoting Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us' despite its lyrical content being false and defamatory. Yale Law's Floyd Abrams Institute filed an amicus brief backing UMG's argument that Drake consented to a rap battle and its consequences; Drake's lawyers called it 'imaginative' since consent was never raised as an affirmative defense by UMG. Drake's team also argues the court failed to convert UMG's motion to dismiss into a summary judgment proceeding, denying Drake the chance to contest evidence from early discovery.
THE BREAKDOWN
A circuit-level reversal would reset the legal risk calculus for any label promoting music with specific, nameable false allegations, affecting how labels, managers, and artists approach diss tracks commercially and contractually, particularly around marketing, streaming promotion, and sync licensing. For talent reps, the case is also a template for how artist-label disputes over content promotion can escalate well beyond the music into broad liability territory. Even if Drake loses the appeal, the proceedings are clarifying what speech protections apply when a label knowingly amplifies contested content, which will shape how music counsel drafts artist agreements going forward.
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