A Bronx, New York clothing designer suing Jay Z for royalties from the Roc-A-Fella Records logo is seeking the recusal of a federal judge overseeing the $7 million lawsuit. In a Monday court filing, plaintiff Dwayne Walker said U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis in Manhattan should take himself off the case “because a reasonable person would question his impartiality.” Ellis was also accused of basing one ruling on a private call from a lawyer for the corporate defendants “without even reaching out to the plaintiff” for his views. In his July 2012 lawsuit, Walker claimed to have in 1995 created artwork depicting a vinyl record that became the basis for Roc-A-Fella’s logo, which also includes a superimposed “R.” The designer is seeking to hold the defendants liable for copyright infringement dating to 1996.
