Photo: Getty Images
Jay-Z's lawsuit against the photographer behind his Reasonable Doubt album cover is headed to trial. According to recent court documents, Hov and legendary photographer Jonathan Mannion couldn’t come to a settlement agreement regarding photos that Mannion took for the rapper's debut album --- so Jay is filed a suit against Mannion, who has several photos of Hov on his website with a sale price attached, for using the images without his permission.
The court filing reads:
“Plaintiff Shawn Carter and Defendants Jonathan Mannion and Jonathan Mannion Photography LLC participated in a mediation before the Honorable Terry Friedman (Ret.) on January 5, 2022. The parties were unable to reach an agreement to resolve this case.”
A representative for Hov told the courts that Mannion never had permission to sell the photographs and when Jay asked Mannion to cease the sale of said images, Mannion demanded millions of dollars. The rep shared
“JAY-Z never gave Mannion permission to resell any of the images. Nor did Jay-Z authorize Mannion to use his name, likeness, identity or persona for any purpose.”
Since neither party could come to an agreement, the case will go to trial in July 2022. This isn't the first time Hov headed to court over a business dispute. The trial news comes just weeks after a jury cleared the hip hop mogul in a lawsuit that claimed he breached an endorsement deal for a “Gold Jay-Z” cologne brand by failing to properly promote it, allowing Hov to avoid $67 million in requested damages.