SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico has dismissed a portion of the legal claims brought by global music sensation Bad Bunny's former girlfriend, Carliz De La Cruz Hernández, in her ongoing lawsuit against the star.
According to official judicial reports, the island's highest court ruled that the claims specifically relating to the artist's 2017 track Pa Ti were filed past the legally permitted timeframe and are officially time-barred.
De La Cruz originally alleged that she recorded the distinct catchphrase "Bad Bunny, baby" on her mobile phone back in 2015. She claimed the Grammy-winning artist subsequently integrated that voice recording into the song Pa Ti without obtaining her formal permission or offering compensation, leading her to file a lawsuit years later for unauthorized voice usage.
While the Supreme Court successfully threw out the allegations tied to the 2017 track, the ruling does not throw out the litigation entirely. Several of De La Cruz's remaining legal claims survived the high court appeal. These remaining matters have been sent back down and will now proceed before the Puerto Rico Court of First Instance, where the civil dispute will continue to be argued. The voice snippet in question is also featured in the performer's song Dos Mil 16, which remains an active part of the ongoing litigation.
The legal setback comes as the music star navigates separate intellectual property challenges. Bad Bunny is currently facing an independent lawsuit filed earlier this year by Tainaly Serrano Rivera, who similarly alleges that recordings of her voice were utilized without prior consent in the songs Solo de Mi and EoO. Legal proceedings for both copyright and voice-appropriation cases remain ongoing in the courts, with no final determinations reached on the surviving allegations.
