Judge Tosses Phila. Lawyer's Suit Against Roc Nation, Amazon Over Leaked Meek Mill Audio
U.S. District Judge Gerald McHugh on Wednesday dismissed attorney A. Charles Peruto Jr.'s actions alleging violations of the Pennsylvania and Federal Wiretap Acts.
June 13, 2019 at 12:58 PM
4 minute read
A federal judge has dismissed claims that a prominent Philadelphia lawyer brought against Amazon and Roc Nation over an allegedly surreptitiously recorded conversation where the attorney appeared to make critical comments about his client, who is the judge at the center of rapper Meek Mill's probation violation case.
U.S. District Judge Gerald McHugh of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Wednesday dismissed attorney A. Charles Peruto Jr.'s actions alleging violations of the Pennsylvania and Federal Wiretap Acts and seeking to have the audio files returned. The rulings in Peruto v. Roc Nation dismissed the case at the summary judgment phase.
Peruto had sued Amazon, Roc Nation and others in September over claims that they recorded him without his knowledge during the filming of a documentary produced by Amazon about hip-hop star Robert Rihmeek Williams, better known as Meek Mill, and the criminal justice system. According to Peruto, although he agreed to take part in the documentary, he made the statements at issue when he believed he was off the record and the camera was not recording.
McHugh, however, relying heavily on the authenticated audio recordings in making his ruling, said Peruto failed to indicate that his comments were meant to be off the record, and further determined that the attorney had no reasonable expectation of privacy to support his lawsuit.
“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,” McHugh said. “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.”
Peruto's attorney, Jim Beasley Jr. of The Beasley Firm, said he has already filed an appeal in the case.
“What happened here was the interviewers said no more questions, the forensic testing revealed they powered off everything except Chuck's mike, and they turned the camera to the wall,” Beasley said. “Respectfully, the judge made a lot of findings of fact, and precluded us from getting any facts about the mindset of these people.”
According to McHugh, Peruto sat for interviews for a documentary about Williams, focusing, at least in part, on the rapper's experience with Judge Genece Brinkley of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, whose decision to imprison Williams in late 2017 for probation violations sparked a national outcry. Brinkley had hired Peruto in connection with the controversy.
According to McHugh, after the interview was over, Peruto thanked the defendants and gestured to remove his mic. Peruto then said, “Let me tell you something,” and then the camera turned off, McHugh said. The audio, however, continued to record, according to McHugh, and Peruto then said, “That was hard to do because defending this judge is now becoming—why doesn't she just grant this fucking thing?”
The audio was eventually leaked to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Regarding the replevin claim seeking to have the audio files returned to Peruto, McHugh said Pennsylvania law does not recognize audio files as the type of tangible property subject to a replevin action and that Peruto has no property interest in the words themselves.
“Claiming exclusive possession of words knowingly communicated to others presents an inherent contraction,” McHugh said.
McHugh, however, did not foreclose future litigation stemming from the recordings of Peruto.
“It should be noted that my ruling here can only address the claims that exist at this point,” he said. “It remains to be seen how the documentary itself presents Mr. Peruto and whether its portrayal of him gives rise to any other claims.”
Ballard Spahr attorney Michael Berry, who is representing Amazon, and Joshua Peles of Reed Smith, who is representing Roc Nation, both did not return a call seeking comment.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllPa. Federal District Courts Reach Full Complement Following Latest Confirmation
The Defense Bar Is Feeling the Strain: Busy Med Mal Trial Schedules Might Be Phila.'s 'New Normal'
7 minute readFederal Judge Allows Elderly Woman's Consumer Protection Suit to Proceed Against Citizens Bank
5 minute readJudge Leaves Statute of Limitations Question in Injury Crash Suit for a Jury
4 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250