Sullivan & Cromwell beat back a celebrity business manager’s claims that Goldman Sachs breached an alleged fiduciary duty by helping an affiliate lock down a $7 billion private equity sale, while advising the management firm on a proposed, rival transaction.

In dismissing the fraud case against Goldman Sachs, Justice Margaret Chan of the New York County Supreme Court said the KSFB Management LLC, whose principals have reportedly provided business management services for Beyoncé and Drake, hadn’t plausibly shown it was owed a fiduciary relationship by Goldman Sachs. KSFB was represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.

The justice pointed to a Jan. 2023 letter through which KSFB engaged Goldman Sachs to pursue a joint sale with Focus Financial Partners LLC, which later abandoned the deal in favor of a multibillion-dollar acquisition. In the letter, KSFB agreed that “potential conflicts of interest” may arise as Goldman was also advising Focus, and that the interests of KSFB and Focus “may not always be aligned,” according to the decision.