Fairly Legal

G-Eazy and Three 6 Mafia's Juicy J shoulda known better when they ripped off the work of some Southern hip-hop legends ... so claim those artists in a new lawsuit.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Memphis-based DJ Squeeky and Gaylon Love say they own the rights to "Looking 4 Da Chewin" and claim G-Eazy's "No Limit" straight-up sampled their 1993 Southern hip-hop classic.

Squeeky and Love claim G-Eazy never got permission to sample the track and are suing for copyright infringement. They also want a slice of the profits from G-Eazy's "No Limit" track, which enjoyed mega-success when it dropped in 2017 as the lead single in G-Eazy's fourth studio album, "The Beautiful & Damned."

It's interesting ... "No Limit" features Cardi B and A$AP Rocky, and the remix also includes French Montana, Belly and Juicy J. But, Squeeky and Love are only going after G-Eazy and Juicy J.

The Memphis artists' lawyer Alcide Honore tells us, for starters, G-Eazy's getting sued because it's his track. As for Juicy J ... he hails from Memphis, so he should have known he was rapping over a popular Southern hip-hop track that first hit the scene in the early '90s. We're told other parties could be added to the lawsuit down the road, but for now, the legal team says G-Eazy and Juicy J bear responsibility.

It's been a rough week for Juicy J and counterpart DJ Paul ... both of whom were slapped with separate lawsuits earlier this week.

Nicki Minaj's husband's past is coming back to bite him in the ass -- he's been arrested by U.S. Marshals on an indictment for failing to register as a sex offender ... TMZ has learned.

Kenneth Petty was in federal custody Wednesday -- we're told he turned himself into the Marshals. According to court docs, he'll face a judge later today. Petty moved to California in July 2019, but according to law enforcement he got pulled over in Beverly Hills in November and that's when his legal troubles started.

We're told Bev Hills PD made a traffic stop on November 15 and determined Petty was a registered sex offender in New York state but had not registered in California ... as required.

He was arrested and released on a $20,000 bond. The L.A. County D.A. charged him for failing to register as a sex offender.

It appears he still didn't check in after that because now the feds are in on the case. He was indicted in federal court for the same thing ... failing to register.

As we've reported, Kenneth's rap sheet includes a 1995 conviction for first-degree attempted rape. He served almost 4 years in NY state prison for the crime and was required to register as a sex offender. If convicted on the federal charge for failure to register, Kenneth faces up to 10 years in prison.

TMZ broke the story ... Nicki and Kenneth hit up the Bev Hills Courthouse to get a marriage license in July ... around the time the couple moved to Cali.

We've reached out to Nicki's camp for comment, so far no word back.

Journey's leader, Neal Schon, is sending his bassist and drummer on their "Separate Ways" ... for allegedly trying to hijack the group name in a scheme that's landed them all in court.

Lead guitarist Neal, a founding member, and keyboard player Jonathan Cain are suing their long-time bassist Russ Valory and drummer Steve Smith, claiming they tried to take control of the band's corporation called Nightmare Productions, Inc.

According to the lawsuit, Russ and Steve allegedly thought the move would give them access to the "Journey" name, thereby allowing them to make millions for themselves after retiring. Neal and Jonathan say their rhythm section recently decided to hang it up.

Ill-conceived plan though, according to docs, obtained by TMZ. Neal and Jonathan say the band name is already licensed to another corporation called "Elmo" ... which was set up by former lead singer Steve Perry, Neal and Jonathan back in 1985.

Bottom line ... Russ and Steve are out in the cold, as far as making money off the band's name -- and now they've got this lawsuit on their hands too, for breach of fiduciary duty. Neal and Johnathan -- who co-wrote most of the band's huge hits with Perry -- also want damages of at least $10 million.

Journey's scheduled to tour this summer with The Pretenders -- so expect to see a new drummer and bass player on stage if you're going.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous mug and iconic voice are being ripped-off by a Russian robot manufacturer, and he wants more than $10 million to make it right ... or for the robot to go hasta la vista.

Arnold's company is suing Promobot, which makes autonomous service robots consumers can customize to look human. The product's called the Android Robo-C, and can be made to look like a person of your choosing.

The problem -- according to the suit -- Arnold did not give permission to Promobot to use HIS likeness to promote it, and is generally very strict about his face being used for ads because "such activity diminishes his hard-earned and well-deserved reputation as a major motion picture star." However, according to the lawsuit ... he's become the "unwilling face" of the product.

Arnold's company claims Promobot is using the Arnold-like model at public events to promote and market the Android Robo-C. Even more egregiously ... Promobot allegedly asked Arnold to pose for a photo with its robot while he was in St. Petersberg to deliver a speech in 2019 ... and he refused.

However, according to the suit, Promobot kept using the Arnold android ... including at CES in Vegas in January. At that point, Arnold's attorney -- legal pit bull Marty Singer -- fired off a cease and desist letter to the robot company demanding it stop.

Singer made it clear to Promobot ... he's won cases like this in the past, including scoring a judgment for more than $2.5 mil for Priscilla Presley, who's "far less commercially valuable" than Schwarzenegger. In fact, Arnold says he would not have accepted anything less than $10 million for using his likeness.

Promobot allegedly assured Arnold's team it would cease using the Arnold-bot ... it popped up again at the New York Toy Fair at the end of February. Hence, a lawsuit's now been filed for misappropriation of Arnold's right of publicity.

DaBaby's no longer sweating a battery case in Miami ... TMZ's learned prosecutors are dropping the charge but the rapper's not exactly out of the woods just yet.

The Miami State Attorney's Office says it dropped the battery charge against DB claiming one of the alleged victims would NOT cooperate. That alleged victim is a friend of concert promoter, Kenneth Carey. You'll recall Carey was the guy who got beat up and allegedly robbed on video. The other alleged victim is not seen in the video.

Even though the battery charge has been tossed, cops are still investigating the alleged robbery of Carey ... so DaBaby could potentially be charged.

TMZ broke the story ... Carey sued DaBaby claiming DB and his crew beat him to a pulp and in the process jacked his phone, money and credit card over a business deal gone wrong. That lawsuit -- Carey's suing for more than $6 mil -- is still active.

'Real Housewives' star Jules Wainstein has something her estranged husband wants -- a lock of hair -- because he wants to prove she's abusing drugs, claiming it made her crazy.

Michael Wainstein ran to civil court shortly after Jules was arrested last week on domestic violence charges in Florida -- asking a judge for a restraining order against his wife. He also wants to get her tested and treated for what he says is a very dangerous addiction.

Per the docs, obtained by TMZ, Michael claims Jules poses a serious risk to not only him ... but to their two minor children as well. He says one of the kids told him they saw their mom taking pills before she allegedly went on a mini-rampage during a custody exchange ... for which she was ultimately arrested, booked and charged with battery.

BTW, Michael also says in the docs ... one night while they were in NYC, Jules came home visibly high on cocaine and repeatedly punched Michael in the face when he confronted  her about it. Just another reason he's concerned now.

Mike claims he's aware of a past drug problem she's had with Rx pills, including improper use of Adderall. Because of "bizarre behavior" Michael says Jules displays in front of the children -- including allegedly using a baseball bat on his car, licking his window, punching Mike, etc. -- he believes the court needs to step in here.

Specifically, he wants hizzoner to force Jules to submit hair follicles for testing to see if she is, in fact, on something ... and if so, Mike wants her ordered into a treatment program.

This is all part of their divorce case, which was filed in New York. The restraining order and battery cases are in Florida where the kids were handed off from father to mother, and Michael ran to a Florida court for an emergency restraining order that's tied to the divorce case.

William Shatner and his ex-wife are divvying up all their assets, and we mean ALL -- because the settlement covers everything from dogs to land, to ashes of exes and yes ... horse semen.

As you know, Bill filed to divorce Elizabeth back in December and it's now been finalized, but they had plenty to split up. We'll start with their livestock. Capt. Kirk is boldly leaving with 2 horses ... Renaissance Man's Medici and Powder River Shirley. He also gets 2 dogs ... Macchiato and Double Espresso.

Elizabeth also gets 2 horses ... Belle Reve's So Photogenic and Pebbles (they kinda mailed it in with that name). No dogs for her.

Shatner's love for his horses is well known -- he breeds them after all, and he made sure to cover that in the docs. For instance, he gets "all horse semen" and horse equipment. Yes, that's spelled out in black and white.

On to their real estate and cars. Elizabeth gets a Malibu Cove home, another in Versailles, Kentucky and she keeps her share off her family's farm in Indiana. In her garage, you'll find a 2007 BMW X5, a 2015 Mercedes Benz ML65, and a 2004 Ford Explorer.

Shatner keeps a Studio City home and a ranch in Three Rivers, CA near Sequoia National Park. However, they've agreed that Elizabeth gets the right to "occasionally harvest some fruit" from trees on the ranch. It's clearly a special property to both of them ... because she can also go there to visit the ashes of her first husband, and some horse graves.

The divorce also spells out visitation rights -- they didn't have kids together, but they've got lots of animals. Elizabeth can visit with Macchiato, Double Espresso and some of the horses ... as long as she gives Bill "advance notice."

As for the boring stuff -- AKA money -- he's already paid her one lump sum of $2 million in spousal support, and that was spelled out in their prenup.

The judge has already signed off, so that's a wrap on marriage #4 for Bill and #2 for Elizabeth. They're both single and ready to mingle!!!

Three 6 Mafia's DJ Paul just got hit with his second lawsuit in as many days ... and this time Trippie Redd's caught up in the legal mess over a 'Hit' song.

Reginald Boyland, the man behind On The Strength Records, is suing DJ Paul over Trippie Redd's track "Death" ... which dropped last November. Confused? Let us explain.

Boyland says, in legal docs obtained by TMZ, "Death" sampled DJ Paul's famous 1997 "Hit a Mutha****a." Big mistake, according to Boyland, because he claims Paul no longer owns the rights to 'Hit.'

In the suit, Boyland says he got rights to the song in a 2015 settlement with Paul. He had sued DJP claiming 'Hit' sampled his track, "Pimps In The House."

Fast-forward to Trippie Redd's "Death" -- and Boyland's now calling out Trippie for never getting permission from him to sample 'Hit.'

Boyland says he'd already informed Paul and Trippie they owe him some "Death" dough but got no response. He's suing for copyright infringement and wants a slice of the profits from Trippie's track.

As we first reported ... a group of Memphis-based artists are also suing DJ Paul and Juicy J in a separate lawsuit for allegedly stiffing them on various songs.

"Little Women: LA" star Christy Gibel is officially -- and happily -- single with a few weeks to spare in her pregnancy ... but there are still some doggone issues to hash out.

Christy and Todd Gibel are no longer husband and wife after the judge signed off on dissolving their marriage ... making them both single in the eyes of the law. She also has restored her name to Christy Lynn McGinity, her maiden name ... so another W there.

Sources close to McGinity tell TMZ ... even though she wanted an annulment, she's satisfied with the divorce ruling because she just wants to be done with Todd before the birth of her child, whose due date is April 1.

As we told you ... Christy moved on quickly following her split from Todd with a new guy named Gonzo, and the 2 announced they were expecting soon after. We're told Christy's excited to start a fresh life with her boyfriend and their baby ... who they plan to name Violet Eva Carazo.

However, Christy and Todd still need to determine how to divvy up their marital assets ... including a dog named Elvis.

Sources close to Todd tell us ... he wants Elvis back in the divorce settlement. Problem is -- according to Todd's side -- the dog was surrendered to Vanderpump Dogs, where they originally bought it, without his knowledge ... and then Vanderpump adopted Elvis back out to one of Christy's family members.

We're told Todd believes Elvis is marital property and should be returned to him, and Vanderpump Dogs has apparently agreed to this if Christy's family member returns the dog.

Our sources say Todd's holding out hope the court will award Elvis to him as part of the final divorce judgment. But as for Christy's side, she's telling friends the family pet was in her name, not Todd's.

A judge in the college admissions scandal says USC's been covering up the fact it gives preference to students tied to influential people, and a new court order seems to be good news for Lori Loughlin and her co-defendants.

The judge is ordering USC to turn over unredacted documents in the college admissions scandal. According to the judge, the University has been misleading the court by blacking out certain information in documents it's produced.

The judge says prosecutors have argued students trying to get into USC do NOT get preferential treatment if influential people advocate for them. However, the judge says she's now seen unredacted USC emails which "directly contradict" that claim from prosecutors.

While the court had previously allowed USC to redact names of applicants and school officials -- it's now changing that because it sees the information is critical to defense attorneys in the case.

Lori and Mossimo Giannulli's attorneys, along with other defendants, have argued USC institutionally gives preference to so-called "side door" applicants -- people with money, power and influence.

The judge seems to be saying there are emails, and other documents, that could support that ... and USC needs to be more forthcoming with admissions info.

Megan Thee Stallion says certain execs at her record label have a rep for "bullying and strong-armed tactics," but she's taking a stand by taking them to court ... and she's already won a major battle.

Meg went on the offensive by filing suit Monday against 1501 Certified Entertainment and its honcho, Carl Crawford. As you know, she's pissed about the contract she signed with the label back when she was 20, and claims it's now blocking her from releasing new music because she wants to renegotiate.

A district judge in Harris County Texas granted Megan a temporary restraining order which prevents her label from blocking the music she plans to drop on Friday.

In the suit, Megan lays out the most outrageous terms of her contract, at least in her eyes. For instance, she claims the deal calls for 1501 Certified to get 60% of her recording income. The remaining 40% goes to her, but she has to use that to pay engineers, mixers and featured artists who work on the songs.

Point is ... MTS claims there's a very small slice of pie left for her when it's all said and done. She also says her live gigs currently benefit the label more than her.

According to the suit, the contract calls for all money from Megan's touring and live performances to be paid directly to 1501 Certified. She says the label is supposed to give her a proper accounting of what she's owed -- but claims what they've provided is incomplete, and "purposefully and deceptively vague."

Megan also claims Crawford has been using his relationship with Rap-a-Lot Records founder J. Prince to intimidate people in the industry. In the suit, she claims Crawford pressured a producer to hand over beats by saying Prince would be pissed. Megan claims, "Prince is notorious in the industry for strong-armed intimidation tactics, and the comment was taken as a physical threat of harm."

Megan thinks Prince has had a hand in an online smear campaign against her ... including the recent story about her getting arrested 5 years ago.

All of these headaches simply aren't worth it to Megan, who says in exchange for signing the contract she got a measly $10,000 advance. Hence, her desire to renegotiate.

She's suing Carl and 1501 Certified Entertainment for at least $1 million in damages. Megan is not suing J. Prince.

BTW, the temporary restraining order she got also prevents the label from attacking or abusing her on social media. Megan's attorney, Richard Busch, tells TMZ, "We are very happy the Court granted our TRO and thrilled that the world should be able to now hear Megan's new music on March 6. We will now proceed with the other claims set forth in the [lawsuit]."

Three 6 Mafia's DJ Paul and Juicy J have been staying fly -- musically speaking -- on the backs of other people's work ... so claim a group of artists now suing the MCs.

A bunch of Memphis-based artists are going after the legendary hip-hop group, alleging they committed "over 150 independent acts of copyright infringement from more than 100 individual sound recordings."

One of the many offending tracks listed is "MEMPHIS." The plaintiffs claim Three 6 Mafia didn't give them credit for some of the lyrics. Ditto for "Tear Da Club Up."

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the group of artists say they came up in the Memphis music scene in the 90s when Three 6 Mafia was also trying to make a name for itself. The group claims shortly after they all met they started collaborating -- producing, recording, writing lyrics for Three 6 Mafia -- but never got a penny for their work.

The artists claim Three 6 Mafia was just one of several musical groups DJ Paul and Juicy J created to profit off the group's work. The artists claim this led to DJ Paul and Juicy J making millions from their work.

District Attorney Jackie Lacey's husband was not a happy camper when protesters showed up on their doorstep -- wielding a gun and threatening to shoot if they didn't scram.

The Los Angeles County D.A.'s hubby was pissed off Monday morning, and aimed what appears to be a handgun at Black Lives Matter organizer Melina Abdullah. He angrily ordered her and whoever else was outside to get off their Granada Hills property ... or he'd fire.

Abdullah kept her cool during the confrontation, asking Lacey's husband, David, if Jackie could come to the door -- or if he could relay the BLM camp was there to see her.

He wasn't having any of that, though, telling her he didn't care who she was or what org. she was with ... once again demanding they scram before slamming the door shut. Apparently, Lacey had agreed to meet with BLM L.A. that morning ... but didn't show up.

It appears BLM went to Lacey's crib to protest in an effort to coax her out. Abdullah says she was simply there to "invite" Lacey, almost as a reminder that she'd agreed to meet with them. That said ... it's unclear what more, if anything, led up to this moment.

Law enforcement sources tell us the LAPD is aware of the video and spoke with the person the gun was aimed at (Abdullah, in this case). We're told she refused to cooperate, and for now ... the department is investigating the circumstances further. No arrests were made.

Chad Johnson is continuing to freak out his fans and followers on social media -- less than 24 hours after cops checked on him for a possible suicide threat.

The ex-'Bachelorette' star posted two new videos on his Instagram story overnight -- one of which shows him sitting at a table and blaring Billy Joel's "Piano Man" song, with what appears to be the cord he showed off on his door yesterday and a lone bottle cap.

Another video that follows shows Chad seemingly talking to someone from behind a door, with him quickly saying ... "I have no choice." Of course, these new clips come on the heels of Friday's terrifying post, which depicted what looked like a makeshift hanging contraption.

He captioned that photo, "it'll be okay." Cops told us they went out to his San Fernando home on a welfare check yesterday, but determined no imminent threat on his life.

The scary moment comes just a few days after he was arrested for domestic violence and robbery after he allegedly got physical with his ex-girlfriend, Annalise Mishler. Chad addressed the situation the following day, denying he'd put hands on her while also apologizing.

We got a call into West Valley office of the LAPD to see if they're dropping in on Chad again in light of this new disturbing information. We're told officers were on the scene this AM for a possible welfare check, but no further details are known at this time.

Vic Mensa was hit with the ol' good news and bad news sitch in his brass knuckles case and TBH ... it was more good than bad.

The good news ... he was NOT charged with felony possession of brass knuckles. The bad news ... Vic WAS charged with possession of brass knuckles ... this according to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office.

Vic was officially charged this week and pled not guilty. As we first reported, Vic was busted last month in Glendale after cops pulled him over for making an unsafe turn.

Cops patted him down and found the brass knuckles in Vic's pants pocket. Remember, while they're legal in most states ... brass knuckles are banned in Cali.

Tyler Perry's family now has almost complete certainty his nephew took his own life, and was not murdered in prison.

Tyler tells TMZ ... they got the autopsy results back from Dr. Michael Baden -- the world-renowned pathologist he hired to look into 26-year-old Gavin Porter's death in a Louisiana prison. We're told Baden says he's 98 percent sure there was no foul play in Porter's death.

That seems to confirm what prison officials told the Perry family ... that Tyler's nephew hanged himself using bedsheets while in solitary confinement. The family wasn't convinced, which is why Tyler hired Baden to conduct an independent 2nd autopsy.

Tyler says, "The answers don't take away grief, but it surely gives room for grieving to take its course."

Porter was doing 20 years for manslaughter after killing his father -- in front of his mother, who is Tyler's sister. He'd been placed in solitary after getting into a fight last weekend. He was found dead Tuesday night.