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A District of Columbia judge has ordered the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to pay more than $252,000 in attorneys\u2019 fees to jazz musician Chuck Redd after his lawyers successfully argued that the center\u2019s breach-of-contract lawsuit targeted his protected speech over the venue\u2019s attempted name change.<\/p>\n
Superior Court Judge Tanya M. Jones Bosier, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, ruled Monday that the Kennedy Center must pay Mr. Redd $252,479.70 within 45 days to cover legal costs stemming from a lawsuit the center filed against him in March. Mr. Redd, a drummer and vibraphonist, had hosted the center\u2019s Christmas Eve \u201cJazz Jams\u201d concert for nearly two decades before pulling out of last December\u2019s show days after the center\u2019s Trump-aligned board added President Trump\u2019s name to the venue\u2019s facade.<\/p>\n
Judge Jones Bosier dismissed the underlying lawsuit in June under the District\u2019s anti-SLAPP statute, a law meant to deter litigation aimed at chilling public-interest speech, finding that Mr. Redd had never signed the proposed 2025 performance agreement and that the center failed to establish a valid breach-of-contract claim. In her ruling on the fee award, the judge sided largely with Mr. Redd\u2019s legal team, awarding nearly all of the roughly $258,000 they had sought, while trimming a portion of litigation expenses and one attorney\u2019s hourly rate under the court-preferred Laffey matrix rather than the federal Fitzpatrick matrix his lawyers had used. The judge also noted in the order that the Kennedy Center\u2019s 21-page opposition brief missed the court\u2019s filing deadline and exceeded its 15-page limit.<\/p>\n
The center sued Mr. Redd for breach of contract after he went public with his reason for withdrawing, which the center\u2019s court filings described as an effort \u201cto abuse the public forum provided to him by the Center in order to make a political statement.\u201d Richard Grenell, the center\u2019s president at the time, had separately threatened Mr. Redd with a $1 million lawsuit over what he called a \u201cpolitical stunt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lisa Banks, one of Mr. Redd\u2019s attorneys, said in a statement that no citizen should have to fend off \u201cbaseless and politically motivated lawsuits filed by the Trump Administration.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the center intends to appeal the fee award.<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump\u2019s name was removed from the Kennedy Center\u2019s facade in June after a separate federal ruling found it had been added without the required congressional approval. The center\u2019s board is expected to consider a new proposal Thursday for a two-year renovation closure, after a federal judge blocked its earlier closure decision.<\/p>\n
This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times' AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times' original reporting, wire services, and\/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com<\/p>\n
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.<\/p>\n
Copyright \u00a9 2026 The Washington Times, LLC. <\/p>\n
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