A judge has dismissed the key claims in a lawsuit alleging that headphone maker Beats Electronics duped one of its early partners before negotiating its $3 billion sale to Apple two years ago.
The summary judgment issued late Monday by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Fahey resolves the heart of a case that accused Beats co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine of double-crossing former partner Noel Lee, founder of video and audio cable maker Monster LLC.
The allegations, made in a lawsuit filed last year, had been scheduled to go to trial next week. Now the trial will be limited to Beats’ effort to force Monster to pay its attorney fees and other costs.
Apple declined to comment on the ruling, but Beats has always maintained Monster’s lawsuit was frivolous.
Monster attorney Philip Gregory didn’t respond to requests for comment.