The attorney representing Meek Mill’s judge has lost his case against Roc Nation and Amazon.
As previously reported, Charles Peruto Jr., the lawyer for Judge Genece Brinkley, claimed the producers for Meek’s upcoming Amazon docuseries unlawfully recorded his disparaging remarks about his client after he agreed to an on-camera interview for the project.
Peruto’s comments, which saw him criticizing the way Brinkley handled Meek’s case when she sentenced him to two-to-four years in prison for violating his probation in 2017, were recorded on a hot mic following the interview. The audio was later published by the media and sparked a lawsuit against Amazon and Roc Nation, a co-producer of the “Free Meek” docuseries.
After the entertainment company submitted new evidence in the case last month, U.S. District Court Judge Gerald McHugh ruled in their favor, dismissing Peruto’s lawsuit.
On Wednesday (June 12), McHugh released his opinion, writing, “Having reviewed the record, I conclude that the material facts of this are undisputed, and that Plaintiff’s wiretap actions cannot survive as a matter of law. According, I grant summary judgment for Defendants.”
McHugh also noted that “Mr. Peruto spoke freely in front of a room full of individuals, some of whom he did not know, in the presence of recording equipment. […] Peruto knew the recording devices had just been recording, yet he began disparaging his client before he even had time to fully remove his microphone.”
He went on to say, “Given the controversial nature of the case he was discussing, Defendants’ interest in getting a story, and the controversial nature of his remarks, Peruto had greater reason than the officers in Agnew to be concerned that his words might be intercepted, overheard, or otherwise disclosed.”
According to McHugh, since Peruto never directly instructed the producers to stop recording nor did he ever mention that his comments should be “off the record,” the case had no merit. Meanwhile, “Free Meek” is expected to premiere sometime this summer. Watch the trailer here.