It was a hard-knock ruling for Jay-Z.
A Manhattan judge on Monday tossed a lawsuit the hip-hop mogul filed against former running mate R. Kelly stemming from their scuttled Best of Both Worlds trek. The rapper had filed his counterclaim in response to the R&B singer's $75 million breach of contract lawsuit that accused Jay-Z of unjustly booting him off the tour.
"We're gratified but not surprised by the judge's decision," Kelly attorney Peter Parcher said in a statement. "When all the legal smoke clears, we're confident R. Kelly will collect substantial damages from Jay-Z and the other defendants."
Kelly sued Jay-Z (real name: Sean Carter), his Marcy Projects production company and concert promoter Atlanta Worldwide last November, claiming the rapper deliberately derailed their heavily hyped tour "out of spite and jealousy" toward Kelly's "superior audience draw and tour profit share."
Carter fired back in January with a countersuit, alleging the "Bump 'n Grind" singer took legal action in a bid to distract the public from his upcoming felony trial on child pornography charges.
Per court papers, Jay-Z asserted that the jaunt with Kelly had turned into a "nightmarish odyssey" due to the singer's "lack of professionalism and unpredictable behavior"--for example, walking offstage during a performance in St. Louis, showing up two hours late for a show in Chicago and causing concert delays in several other cities.
As a result, Jay-Z contended Kelly defrauded the rapper by failing to put on a good show.
But New York State Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos didn't see it that way. Instead he agreed with Kelly attorney Greg Klarick, who argued that Kelly's behavior might have been unprofessional, but it did not add up to fraud.
"The fact that you don't do something well doesn't mean it's fraud," Klarick, told E! Online.
Klarick added that Ramos dismissed a second claim because Jay-Z failed to show how Kelly interfered with the rapper's contact with the promoter, especially since Jay-Z continued headlining the 40-city tour on his own after dumping Kelly.
"This is a nine-inning game and clearly Kelly won the inning but he didn't win the game," said Klarick.
While Jay-Z attorney Jonathan Davis did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment, but he told New York Newsday that he plans to appeal the ruling.
"The matter is far from over," he said.