Plagiarism Suit Against Lionel Richie Rejected

A U.S. District Court jury in Los Angeles rejected allegations Tuesday by two aspiring songwriters who claimed that singer Lionel Richie plagiarized their work for three popular songs.

Jurors deliberated only a few hours before finding that the songwriters had not proven that Richie had probably heard a tape they sent him in 1980. “I can go home and go to sleep now,” Richie said after the verdict.

Songwriters Gene Thompson and Tracey Singleton claimed in a lawsuit that parts of their songs, “Somebody’s Got to Love Her” and “You and Me,” were copied in Richie’s “Deep River Woman,” “Stuck on You” and “Sela.” The lawsuit, filed in 1985, claimed that a tape of the songs was given by Thompson’s wife, Carol Ann, to Commodores’ manager Benny Ashburn. Richie was a member of the group at the time. Because of the finding on whether or not the tape was heard, the jury did not have to proceed to the issue of whether Richie’s songs were similar to the plaintiffs’ songs.