The plantiff sought recusal after the judge appeared biased.

Two years ago Jay Z and his fellow Roc-A-Fella founders were sued for $7 million in unpaid royalties to Dwayne Walker, the artist who designed the label’s logo. Recently, Walker had requested Judge Ronald Ellis recuse himself due to decisions that appeared biased including making a decision based on a call with Jay Z’s attorney’s without including Walkter. The judge has now responded that he will not recuse himself as he sees no evidence of “deep seated favoritism”.

“Walker mischaracterizes both the facts surrounding these decisions and the supporting rationale provided by the court”, Ellis wrote in part of the statement. [via Reuters]