Judge throws out Kennedy Center suit over canceled Christmas Eve show
What's new: The case was dismissed with prejudice under Washington's anti-SLAPP law after the musician never signed the contract.
A D.C. Superior Court judge dismissed the Kennedy Center's breach-of-contract lawsuit against musician Chuck Redd after he canceled a Christmas Eve performance tied to the venue's holiday Jazz Jams. The ruling Friday came under Washington's anti-SLAPP law, which is meant to block lawsuits seen as punishing speech on matters of public interest. Redd had led the Kennedy Center's Christmas Eve Jazz Jams since 2006. He pulled out of last year's show after the center's Trump-backed board voted to add President Donald Trump's name to the facility. Court filings argued Redd was never bound to perform because he had not signed the contract the Kennedy Center provided. His lawyers said the judge dismissed the case with prejudice.