Pop-punk band Yellowcard are still planning to move forward with their lawsuit against late rapper Juice WRLD.

Juice WRLD tragically passed away on December 8 after suffering a seizure and going into cardiac arrest at Chicago’s Midway Airport. He was 21 years old. An official cause of death has yet to be determined.

The lawsuit began on October 21 with former Yellowcard members William Ryan Key, Peter Michael Mosely, Longineu Warren Parsons and Sean Michael Wellman-Mackin accusing Juice WRLD and other parties of using “melodic elements” from their 2006 song “Holly Wood Died” in his massive hit “Lucid Dreams” without their permission.

The Florida-born band is seeking damages and a “running royalty and/ownership share” on all future uses of the song. Alternatively, they are seeking statutory damages for each act of copyright infringement. In the initial complaint, the band also sought damages from the rapper’s concert tours and other public appearances, stating that the massive success of “Lucid Dreams” launched Juice WRLD’s career.

The other defendants named in the suit include Taz Taylor (a.k.a. Danny Lee Snodgradd Jr.), co-writer of “Lucid Dreams,” as well as producer Nicholas Mira. Multiple publishers and Juice WRLD’s label Interscope Records were also named.

Following the rapper’s death, the case was put on hold, but now the defendants’ response date has been moved from December 9, 2019 to February 4, 2020.

Since the announcement, Yellowcard’s lawyer Richard Busch of the law firm King & Ballow has made the following statement to Billboard:

“First of all, we were as shocked and saddened by Juice WRLD’s death as everyone else. It is a tragic loss to his family, his fans, and to the music world at large, and we understand why people may be confused about the decision to continue with this lawsuit. My clients are certainly torn about proceeding, and understand the optics involved. But it is important to remember that this lawsuit was filed before this tragic event, and was filed because all of the defendants (and there are 2 other writers and several music publishers and record labels), profited off of what we believe was clear copying and infringement of Yellowcard’s work. We have an expert report making that clear.

So while they are absolutely aware of how this may be perceived, and truly have incredible mixed emotions, the question is whether it is fair that all of those many parties profited, and will continue to profit, off of what my client’s believe strongly was their work. We should also mention that it has been falsely reported that Yellowcard is demanding a specific amount of damages. They are simply seeking what the law allows, and what parties in their position have sought in similar cases, which at this point is not determined.”

The defendants in the case have not made a statement regarding this update.

Featured Image: Instagram (@yellowcard)