Many would tell you that Monster's lawsuit against Beats and HTC faced long odds from the get-go... and sure enough, it's falling flat. A Los Angeles court has summarily dismissed the case, which accused Beats of making sketchy deals in order to both end its alliance with Monster (in the wake of HTC's investment in Beats) and stiff Monster founder Noel Lee on share value ahead of Apple's Beats acquisition. The judge doesn't beat around the bush in explaining why. He says that the agreement between Monster and Beats explicitly allowed Beats to sever ties without requiring Monster's permission or ideal conditions.