The jury ruled that Suckafree Records, Flip (born Wesley Eric Weston), his manager Estelle Douglass Hobbs, Sony Music Entertainment, Columbia Records, Loud Records, Lucky Publishing and Hobbs Publishing infringed the copyright on music featured on the rapper’s major label debut, Underground Legend.

Filed by lawyers Scott Hemingway and Raymond Mbala in Houston’s Federal Court in the Southern District of Texas, the lawsuit alleges copyright infringement on a cut entitled, “Texas Boyz.”

The suit claims the song’s melody was written by Tommy L. Granville, a songwriter/producer from Shreveport. The trial began Monday (January 23) following months of pre-trial arguments, including Sony’s refusal to hand over documents to the plaintiffs on three separate occasions. Judge Ewing Werlein eventually fined Sony $18,000 for failure to follow court orders by withholding the documents.

“We’re very pleased that the jury agreed with our contention that Tommy Granville’s music was illegally used,” Scott Hemingway, Granville’s attorney, told New York’s Daily News. “Sony has been one of the biggest proponents of copyright protection and hopefully, they will now follow their own statements and honor the copyrights of others.”

This marked the second copyright infringement suit against Flip and Sony. Back in August, Namco America Inc. and Sony BMG Entertainment settled a lawsuit in which Namco accused Sony BMG of violating intellectual property laws for sampling sounds from its classic “Pac Man” arcade game for Lil Flip’s “Game Over”.

The suit was filed in Federal Court for the Southern District of New York. The “Pac Man” sample was used in Lil Flip’s “Game Over.” There is no word on the details of the court ruling and what amount, if any, Sony BMG had to pay Namco for Lil Flip’s use of the sample.