A California judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed against Taylor Swift in a cheekily worded ruling that quotes lyrics from the pop star’s songs.



Earlier this month, R&B artist Jessie Braham, who records as Jesse Graham, issued a $42m lawsuit against Swift, accusing the singer of lifting his lyrics for her hit Shake It Off. Braham alleged that although Shake It Off bore no melodic resemblance to his song Haters Gone Hate, Swift took the distinctive lyrics from the chorus of his song, which appears on the album Sexy Ladies.



Graham sings: “Haters gonna hate/ Players gonna play/ Watch out for them fakers/ They’ll fake you every day.” Swift’s chorus runs: “’Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play/ And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.”



US district court judge Gail Standish took the opportunity to show off her knowledge of Swift’s repertoire. While throwing out the suit, Standish invoked lyrics from Swift’s other hits, including We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Blank Space and Bad Blood.



“At present, the Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court. But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure Braham can solve them,” Standish wrote.



Standish ruled that Braham did not provide enough factual evidence and that his allegations did not go beyond a speculative level.

“As currently drafted, the Complaint has a blank space – one that requires Braham to do more than write his name. And, upon consideration of the Court’s explanation in Part II, Braham may discover that mere pleading BandAids will not fix the bullet holes in his case,” Standish wrote.

If Braham could fix the deficiencies of the lawsuit, he could file a new complaint, the court said.

Standish concluded: “At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.”