Final crash on the Levy – Jacques widow desired Dylan’s millions and got nothing

Jacques Levy’s widow has lost her wayward battle to cash-in on Bob Dylan’s giant song catalogue sale.

Claudia Levy failed to overturn a previous Manhattan ruling that denied her lawsuit seeking a portion of the money Dylan made when he sold off his catalogue to Universal Music Group in 2020. 

She had argued that her late husband Jacques Levy’s estate was entitled to 35 percent of the profits Dylan made when he sold the seven songs her husband collaborated on him with for the 1976 album “Desire.”

But an appeals court decided that Jacques Levy’s contract with Dylan was “unambiguous, and does not entitle plaintiffs to proceeds from the sale of the copyrights of the compositions co-written with Dylan”.

Levy had received 35 percent royalties totalling roughly $1 million.

His widow brought her the $7.25 million lawsuit against Dylan last year.

“Today’s decision puts the nail in the coffin of this opportunistic lawsuit,” Dylan’s lawyer, Orin Snyder, said in a statement. 

“We are pleased the court has again rejected this sad attempt to profit off of Bob’s recent catalogue sale.”

Claudia’s lawyer did not return a request for comment.