Universal Music has responded to Fred Durst's unpaid-royalties lawsuit, calling the complaint's allegations "fiction" and requesting dismissal ahead of a January hearing.

The major label filed a detailed 35-page response challenging claims by Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst and his Flawless Records, who alleged they were deprived of millions in due royalties through "unsubstantiated costs" that made accounts appear unrecouped.

Key points from UMG's response:

• UMG claims they attempted to set up royalty payments in January 2023, but Durst's then-business manager Paul Ta incorrectly stated that band members had sold their royalty rights
• The label acknowledges an "embarrassing mistake" in delayed profit-split payments to Flawless Records
• Multimillion-dollar payments were made to plaintiffs in August 2024 after Ta corrected his statement in April
• UMG argues the case should be dismissed because:
  • Flip Records claims must be heard in New York, not California
  • Contract terms prevent termination for royalty-accounting reasons
  • Plaintiffs haven't demonstrated a total failure of payments
  • Varying advance balances resulted from offsetting positive and negative accounts

The dismissal hearing is expected to take place in early January, with plaintiffs likely to contest UMG's response.

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