In a major legal win for veteran music executive Kevin Liles, a federal judge has thrown out a sexual assault lawsuit filed by a former assistant from his time at Def Jam Recordings.
According to Rolling Stone, the suit alleged that Liles, while serving as the label’s president in the early 2000s, made sexually inappropriate comments, engaged in unwanted physical contact and ultimately raped the woman in 2002. The complaint was brought anonymously in February 2025.
Liles categorically denied the allegations. However, the turning point in the case came when the court found that the woman had already settled a separate claim in 2005 with Liles’s former employer and its parent company, Universal Music Group (UMG). Under that 2005 settlement, UMG paid the woman roughly $47,500 in exchange for her agreeing not to pursue further claims arising out of her employment and termination at Def Jam. That earlier settlement did not explicitly mention rape claims but included broad language that released “any and all claims which are known or reasonably should be known” by the plaintiff.
U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald found the release language unambiguous and concluded that the woman was barred from proceeding with her new allegations against Liles. She dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning the case is permanently closed and cannot be amended.
For his part, Liles, who led Def Jam from 1999 to 2004 before co‑founding 300 Entertainment, said the allegations were “patently false” and maintained he has always treated people with respect, particularly women.
