A high-stakes legal battle surrounding the 2019 multi-platinum hit “Dancing With A Stranger” by Sam Smith and Normani is officially heading to trial. The lawsuit, which alleges that the duo misappropriated the hook from a 2015 song of the same name, has survived a significant hurdle in federal court.
The litigation, first initiated in 2022, was initially dismissed by US District Judge Wesley L. Hsu, who determined at the time that the two compositions lacked sufficient similarity to constitute copyright infringement. However, the case was revived last year by a federal appeals court, which concluded that the songs were close enough to warrant further examination by a jury. The plaintiffs—songwriters Jordan Vincent, Christopher Miranda, and Rosco Banlao—have maintained that their original work was improperly utilized.
The Path to Trial
In July, legal counsel for Sam Smith and Normani attempted to have the case dismissed once more, arguing that the plaintiffs’ experts failed to demonstrate the “striking similarity” required to sustain the claims. The defense also leaned on the doctrine of “independent creation,” asserting that the artists had never heard the earlier track and that any sonic similarities were purely coincidental. Judge Hsu, however, rejected this bid, ruling that the question of independent creation is a matter for a jury to resolve.
“The court finds the question of independent creation should be left for the jury to decide,” Judge Hsu stated in his 27-page ruling issued on September 24, 2026. The judge noted that the evidence developed since the case’s inception in March 2022 provided enough of a factual dispute to preclude a summary judgment.
Addressing the Sampling Allegations
The defense had also argued that the plaintiffs’ case suffered from a “fatal defect,” claiming the 2015 song itself contained unlicensed samples from “The Ha Dance” by Masters at Work and “Think (About It)” by Lyn Collins. They contended that because the creators of the 2015 track did not hold the rights to those samples, they lacked standing to sue for copyright infringement.
Judge Hsu dismissed this argument, noting that the samples in question were difficult to discern. “The samples are both difficult to identify or even hear within Plaintiff’s song due to their low volume,” the judge wrote. “As a result, the average audience could very well fail to recognize the appropriation of the sampled songs when listening to Plaintiff’s song.”
Following the ruling, Alfred J. Fluehr, an attorney for the plaintiffs, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision. “The three songwriters who are Sound and Color are gratified that the District Court has recognized that a jury should decide the musicological issues in this case,” Fluehr said in a statement. “We look forward to our day in court.”
As of now, Sam Smith and Normani have not issued a public comment regarding the judge’s decision. The court is expected to schedule a jury trial in the coming months to determine the outcome of this significant music industry dispute.
