Megan Thee Stallion and Roc Nation will face a jury trial in the lawsuit her former photographer filed against them

A federal judge dismissed several claims in Emilio Garcia’s case on Friday and forwarded the remaining ones to a jury; the surviving claims were not the ones that garnered attention.

Megan Thee Stallion and Roc Nation are set to face a jury trial in the lawsuit filed by her former photographer, as a federal judge has declined to dismiss the case prior to its courtroom proceedings. US District Judge Gregory H. Woods issued the ruling on Friday, August 7, denying the majority of requests from both parties and allowing the key disputes to be resolved by a jury.

The case is associated with Emilio Garcia, who served as Megan’s personal photographer starting in 2018. In 2024, he filed a lawsuit against Megan, whose legal name is Megan Pete, her touring company Hot Girl Touring, and Roc Nation. The filing included a series of allegations that circulated in the blogs for weeks, with the most prominent being Garcia’s assertion that during a 2022 trip to Ibiza, he was confined in a moving vehicle while Megan engaged in sexual activity with another woman in his presence. Garcia, who identifies as gay, expressed that the incident left him feeling mortified and contributed to a hostile work environment. He also alleged that he faced fat shaming, was underpaid, and was ultimately pushed out of his position.

What occurred on Friday was a ruling on summary judgment, which is the phase in which a judge determines if the evidence is sufficiently clear to render a trial unnecessary. If the facts are truly in contention, the case is presented to a jury. Megan’s side requested that the court settle all matters without proceeding to a trial. Woods declined, stating that the accounts of Garcia’s employment and working conditions are too conflicting to resolve in writing.

The only claims that remain are financial claims. A jury will determine if Garcia was misclassified as an independent contractor instead of an employee, if he is entitled to extra wages for the work he completed, if he experienced discrimination under New York law, and if the defendants retaliated against him following his complaints about his pay. The question of independent contractor status is often overlooked, yet it carries major consequences. The classification of a worker dictates their entitlement to overtime, protections, and back pay. In the entertainment industry, misclassification cases can result in costly settlements when plaintiffs lose them.

The claims that have faded away are the ones that truly captured the internet’s attention. Woods supported Megan regarding the California harassment claim, determining that there was not enough evidence to suggest that Garcia was specifically targeted for strip club appearances due to his sexual orientation. He noted that it was a general expectation for members of her team to participate in those outings. He also dismissed Garcia’s retaliation claims under New York City and state human rights laws, concluding that leaving a strip club during a 2022 New York outing and remaining silent about what he claims to have seen in the vehicle in Ibiza did not constitute formal opposition to discrimination under those statutes.

Thus, the Ibiza allegation is no longer the driving force behind this lawsuit. It continues to be included in the record and in Garcia’s description of the workplace, but the particular retaliation claims associated with it have been removed. What is being presented to the jury involves a dispute over wages and classifications, along with a discrimination claim under New York law.

Megan’s legal team has consistently denied all allegations from the outset and has remained steadfast in their position. Her attorney, Alex Spiro, has described the allegations as false and fabricated, asserting that Garcia took standard complaints regarding his wages and intertwined them with claims of sex, debauchery, and workplace harassment to generate a media frenzy. Spiro has characterized Garcia as a con artist who is exploiting the court system to act as his publicist. Garcia’s attorney, Ron Zambrano, expressed that his client is eager to present his case in court.

It is important to clarify what a ruling like this entails and what it does not, as much of the coverage conflates the two. Woods did not conclude that Garcia’s allegations are accurate. He discovered that the evidence is sufficiently disputed for a jury to consider. Megan and Roc Nation have the potential to prevail at trial on all remaining claims.

The case has undergone significant changes over the past two years. Garcia initially submitted the filing in California. Megan’s attorneys contended that the lawsuit lacked any valid ties to that state, considering the alleged incident occurred overseas and neither the plaintiff nor Megan, who resides in Miami, is located there. The case was moved to federal court in New York, where Woods dismissed some of the initial claims but permitted parts of the hostile work environment and wage claims to proceed. Friday’s ruling represents the next step in the narrowing process, and it is the final one before the case is presented to a jury.

No trial date has been established.