Fred Durst Scores Legal Victory in Ongoing Lawsuit Against Universal Music Group

Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit have secured a significant win in their ongoing legal battle with Universal Music Group (UMG) as the latest developments in their 2024 lawsuit unfold. In the lawsuit, Durst, the band’s vocalist, filed a massive $200 million suit against UMG, alleging that he, his bandmates, and several other associated parties had fallen victim to accounting discrepancies orchestrated by the major label.

To recap, last fall, Durst accused UMG of multiple breaches of contract, fraudulent concealment, fraudulent business practices, copyright infringement, and more. The main issue stemmed from Durst and Limp Bizkit’s claim that they had not received any recording royalties for approximately 45 million copies of their works sold and streamed while signed under the umbrella of Flip Records and Interscope/Geffen/A&M labels.

Durst claimed that UMG had informed him that the band had not recouped the $43 million advance they received during their late ’90s and early 2000s run. However, after bringing on new financial representation in April of 2024, Durst revisited the issue with UMG. He alleged that further investigation led to the discovery of a payment of $1.03 million being made to the band, but that UMG’s accounting software failed to notify Durst or his team that they were eligible to receive these funds, attributing the mistake to a “software error.”

Additionally, Durst‘s probe into UMG’s financial records uncovered another $2.3 million released to Flawless Records, the label he established under the Interscope/Geffen/A&M umbrella. Flawless Records, which had notable releases like Puddle Of Mudd‘s 3x Platinum album Come Clean (2001), received these funds, but Durst and Limp Bizkit claim they had not received any royalties before these payments. Durst further alleged that Flip Records, the imprint to which Limp Bizkit was signed at the peak of their career, engaged in a profit-sharing agreement with UMG that worked against the band, complicating the recoupment of royalties.

Durst’s lawsuit also alleged that UMG’s use of the aforementioned accounting software could potentially have been a means to avoid paying royalties to numerous artists. The complaint suggested that UMG intentionally designed a system that systematically prevented artists from receiving the royalties they were owed.

Durst’s lawsuit indicated that after initially notifying UMG on July 14th, 2024, about the breaches, UMG was required to make immediate royalty payments and provide missing documentation, including the band’s master recordings, within 30 days. However, UMG did not fulfill these demands on time. By August 16th, UMG responded, stating that payments would be made within one to two weeks, but on August 24th, Durst’s legal team informed UMG that they had failed to remedy the breaches and provide the requested documentation in the specified time frame. As a result, the disputed contracts were nullified.

Durst’s legal team went on to argue that any further distribution of Limp Bizkit‘s master recordings by UMG would constitute copyright infringement. On August 26th, UMG issued the payment of $1,038,321.87 in back royalties to Durst, followed by a payment of $2,348,060 in back profit participation to Flawless Records the next day. By September 30th, Durst formally served notice to UMG of rescission for both the Flip Records and Flawless Records agreements, effectively seeking to return the rights of the master recordings to the band and other involved parties.

In his lawsuit, Durst stated:

“Given the vast amounts of money collected by UMG in relation to sales of Limp Bizkit’s and Flawless Records’ albums over the years… UMG is liable to plaintiffs for tens of millions of dollars in copyright infringement, if not more. Indeed, Plaintiffs allege that the amounts owed to them by UMG following the rescission of these agreements will easily surpass $200 million.”

UMG denied the claims made by Durst, filing a motion to have the lawsuit dismissed. The label argued that email records from communications with members of the band’s camp would “eviscerate” Durst’s claims about not being notified of the outstanding payments. They also refuted claims of further owed funds, asserting that the aforementioned payments were the entirety of the “outstanding royalties and profits.”

The case came before a judge in January 2025, where UMG initially prevailed. Judge Percy Anderson ruled that Durst had not provided sufficient evidence of a “substantial” or “total failure” in the performance of the contracts to justify rescission. Anderson struck down Durst‘s attempt to void the contracts related to Flip Records and Flawless Records.

However, in a recent ruling on March 17th, 2025, a federal judge decided that the copyright infringement claims could proceed. The judge determined that the state court was the wrong forum for certain aspects of Durst’s claims. As a result, the court denied UMG’s motion to dismiss the copyright claims and allowed those to proceed in federal court. Additionally, other claims that were better suited for state court must be refiled, which Durst’s legal team has confirmed they will do.

The case remains ongoing, and Durst and his legal team are pursuing their claims further, with the copyright infringement and other matters continuing to unfold in both federal and state courts.

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