Dip IT Low - Legal Issues

Legal Issues

In August 2008, Milian sued the co-writer and producer of "Dip It Low", Poli Paul, claiming that Paul "very definitively" assured her that "there were no samples whatsoever in 'Dip It Low'". The issue had arisen in February 2005, when Thomas Turino, Larry Crook, and Dan Dickey sued Milian over the song, claiming that it contained a sample from a track they released in 1983 called "La Sirena". The lawsuit claimed that Paul heard the album while in a record store, liked the tune and sampled twelve seconds of it for "Dip It Low". These twelve seconds are repeated in a loop throughout the entire song. This suit was successful and the plaintiffs recovered over a million dollars (after lawyer expenses) divided 40% for Turino (the composer of the theme of the song), and 30% each for Dickey and Crook. Milian claimed that she had to spend more than $300,000 defending herself in the case, which she settled in 2006, and wanted $300,000 plus damages from Paul and his associate, Spencer Cowlings Entertainment. In November 2008, Paul countersued the Island Def Jam Music Group and its parent company, Universal Music Group. Paul alleged that Island Def Jam was "negligent in its obligation to obtain clearance and proper licensing for any copyrighted material" used on the album. In February 2009, a superior court judge ruled that Paul's attorneys had failed to file a sworn declaration in the given period of time, but allowed them to file an amended complaint. Paul's lawyers amended the countersuit and added Milian as a defendant, saying that she was also negligent and that she should compensate him for money he spent in the copyright action. In June 2009, Universal Music Group filed a breach-of-contract suit against Milian and Paul. The record label claimed it was forced to pay attorney fees as a result of the litigation between Milian and Paul. The suit also said that Paul owes the company attorneys' fees from an earlier federal court case involving "Dip It Low".