Judge Throws Out Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Cardi B

• Lawsuit against Cardi B for copyright infringement was dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction.
• Plaintiffs failed to show Cardi B specifically targeted Texas for concerts, a key argument.
• Plaintiffs did not have a registered copyright when they filed the lawsuit, a fatal flaw.

Coutroom Cardi just achieved another legal win, this time, over copyright infringement.

A federal judge in Texas has dismissed a lawsuit against Cardi B that alleged her US Top 10 hit, “Enough (Miami),” was copied from another track.

Back in July 2024, producers Joshua Fraustro and Miguel Aguilar–also known as Kemikal 956–claimed that Cardi B copied their song, “Greasy Frybread,” which was released on November 9, 2021 by Tattoo Muzik Group Studios. In their complaint, they claim “this song has gained significant recognition”, and note that it was used as a promo for the hit FX series Reservation Dogs.

Cardi B’s song, “Enough (Miami),” dropped in March 2024 via Atlantic Records and has streamed over 97.9 million times on Spotify to date.

While Kemikal 956 insisted that track is a rip off of their 2021 song, Rolling Stone reports that US District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. of the Southern District of Texas sided with Cardi B, Atlantic Records, and their parent company, Warner Music Group. The Texas court determined that the plaintiffs sued in the wrong place; Cardi B lives in New Jersey, and Atlantic Records is based in New York and incorporated in Delaware.

Fraustro and Aguilar’s argument that Cardi B’s Texas concert performance established jurisdiction didn’t hold up because she performed across many states, not Texas, specifically.

“Plaintiffs rely solely on her performances in Texas on numerous occasions over several years,” the judge determined, per Music Business Worldwide. “But Plaintiffs do not demonstrate that Almanzar targeted Texas for concert performances, rather than simply including Texas venues within a broader concert tour in numerous states.”

“Almanzar’s performances in Texas are not distinct from her performances in those other states, rendering the concerts in Texas insufficient to establish general jurisdiction,” the judge added.

The labels streaming music in Texas was also no different from what they did in other states, according to Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr.

“Plaintiffs fail to show that these activities differed from these Defendants’ activities in other states—i.e., the fact that Defendants published musical works online so as to make them available in every state does not reveal a targeting of the Texas market.”

The court also found that the plaintiffs didn’t have a copyright registered for their song when they filed the lawsuit.

“Plaintiffs do not allege that they obtained a copyright for Greasy Frybread before Defendants’ alleged wrongful conduct. This omission proves fatal to their claims for vicarious infringement and contributory infringement,” the judge wrote.

Fraustro and Aguilar did end up securing a copyright for the song, but not until October 31, 2025–more than a year after their lawsuit was filed, reports Rolling Stone.

When they couldn’t pursue the copyright route, the judge said the plaintiffs attempted to reframe the same complaint using Texas state laws. They also alleged claims under federal law for vicarious infringement and contributory infringement against Atlantic Records and Warner Music.

“As their own allegations render clear, the cause of action stems from the alleged unlawful copying of Plaintiffs’ musical work, a subject that falls squarely within the Copyright Act’s subject matter. As a result, the Copyright Act preempts this cause of action as alleged,” the judge said.

The court went on to prevent the plaintiffs from filing another amendment to their complaint, saying it “would be futile.”

“As Defendants note, the Plaintiffs’ proposed amendments do not cure the deficiencies in the claims within the Second Amended Complaint,” the judge concluded.

Judge Throws Out Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Cardi B, Blocks Producers From Filing Another 'Futile' Amendment was originally published on bossip.com