A burger shop in Melbourne's north-east embroiled in a lawsuit with rapper Ye, formerly Kanye West, has succeeded in having the case thrown out.
Justice Shaun McElwaine told the Federal Court his decision to dismiss the case was not made lightly, but that Ye had taken "no steps whatsoever to progress this litigation" in recent weeks.
College Dropout Burgers was thrust into the national spotlight when the rapper's lawyers launched the legal action late last year.
The outlet in Ivanhoe and some of its products were named after the rapper's 2004 debut album.
In court documents, Ye accused owner Mark Elkhouri — who considered himself a devout fan — of misleading and deceptive conduct and of attempting to profit by false association with Ye and his brand.
However, the case hit a hurdle last month when Mr Elkhouri's lawyers told the court it was unclear if Ye was interested in continuing the case, and many of their questions had not been substantially answered.
The business owner's team returned to the court in Melbourne on Friday morning, where lawyer Craig Smith sought to have the lawsuit dismissed on three grounds related to non-compliance with court procedures.
"We have an applicant who has no genuine interest in this proceeding," Mr Smith told the court.
Ye, legal team's conduct 'very unsatisfactory'
The court heard the rapper's initial legal team had withdrawn, and neither the plaintiff nor his new, US-based lawyer were present this morning.
One issue at hand was a security payment that Mr Elkhouri's team requested Ye pay as part of the proceedings, but Mr Smith said they had not yet received a formal response.
Justice McElwaine described this as "very unsatisfactory conduct" before concluding the plaintiff and his lawyers had "given no attention to the overarching practices and procedure of this court" and dismissing the case.
Mr Elkhouri, who appeared in court with a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "I am not Kanye West", said he was glad to put the matter behind him.
Outside court, he told reporters he still regarded himself as a fan of the artist's earlier work.
"Kanye West was — and probably still is — in some ways the inspiration of who I am as a person," he said.
"There were some very, very hard times in my life that [the rapper] kind of helped me through, whether it was his previous albums and the type of message."
The rapper's demands in the lawsuit included a declaration that Mr Elkhouri breached Australian Consumer Law and an injunction on him representing his restaurant or its products as having Ye's endorsement.
College Dropout Burgers changed its logo and the names of its burgers after it was first contacted by the rapper but continued to trade under the same name.
Justice McElwaine ordered the rapper's team to pay legal costs but Mr Elkhouri's lawyers acknowledged that could be difficult given they are based overseas.
Mr Elkhouri said he would consider changing his restaurants's name at his own leisure.
