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Courtney Love suit vs. Universal to go to trial

A Los Angeles judge has ruled that rock star Courtney Love’s lawsuit aimed at breaking her contract with recording industry giant Universal Music can go to trial, a Love spokeswoman said Thursday.

The California Superior court judge made her written ruling Sept. 26, the spokeswoman said.

“This is an historic case: no artist has ever gone this far in litigation, and no record company has ever faced charges as serious as these,” A. Barry Cappello, Love’s attorney, said in a statement.

A spokesman for Universal Music was not immediately available for comment.

Cappello has said that Love’s suit, filed in February, targets the music industry’s practice of locking artists into contracts that extend for much longer than allowed in other businesses such as television, film and sports.

Love took her action after Universal sued her in February 2000 seeking damages for five undelivered albums when she tried to end her contractual relationship with the recording company. Music and legal experts called Love’s contract a standard agreement for the industry.

There was no indication when a trial would begin. Universal is a unit of Vivendi Universal.