Kanye West’s Alice Merton Sample Case Dismissed After Settlement Deal

Kanye West‘s sample dispute with Alice Merton has moved off the trial calendar after the two sides reached a settlement.

A federal judge dismissed the case without prejudice while leaving a 90-day window to reopen it if the deal runs into trouble.

Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha issued the dismissal order and canceled every remaining deadline. Merton and her companies had notified the court six days earlier that they had reached an agreement with Ye and Yeezy Record Label.

The November 6 notice said the settlement would resolve the entire case once its obligations were completed.

It anticipated approximately 30 to 45 days of performance after the written agreement was signed.

“Upon full performance, the Parties will file a stipulation dismissing the entire action with prejudice,” Merton’s lawyers wrote. The filing did not disclose a dollar amount or spell out those obligations.

Merton sued over “Gun To My Head,” alleging the Vultures 2 track incorporated her 2022 song “Blindside” despite her refusal to authorize it. The German singer said her family’s history as Holocaust survivors and Ye’s antisemitic statements drove that refusal.

Her complaint followed a clearance request sent to BMG in February 2024. She declined permission the following month, but alleged Ye released the song that August anyway.

The case had recently produced a ruling keeping references to antisemitism and the Holocaust in the lawsuit. Ye’s lawyers sought to remove those allegations, arguing they were unrelated to the copyright dispute.

Aenlle-Rocha rejected that request in October because the allegations helped explain Merton’s refusal. Ye’s defense also challenged the evidence supporting her infringement claim.

The new dismissal allows either side to request reopening within 90 days by explaining why settlement remains incomplete, what still needs doing and when completion is expected. The parties can instead file their agreed dismissal with prejudice within that period.

“All deadlines governing this action are VACATED,” Aenlle-Rocha wrote in the order. The settlement notice had also asked to remove a November 20 hearing on the defendants’ pending summary-judgment motion from the court’s calendar.

The now-canceled trial had been scheduled for March 15, 2027.