A judge sided with jazz performer Chuck Redd, who canceled a 2025 holiday concert after President Trump’s name was added to the building.
A judge in Washington on Friday tossed a lawsuit filed by the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts against a jazz musician who canceled a performance at the venue’s annual Christmas Eve concert last year after the center’s board added President Trump’s name to the building.
In an order throwing out the breach-of-contract case, the judge, Tanya M. Jones Bosier, wrote that the Kennedy Center failed to prove that Chuck Redd, a jazz musician and a host of the institution’s holiday program, had signed a contract to perform as he had in years past.
The dispute arose after the Kennedy Center’s board voted to rename the institution The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, according to court papers.
Following the decision, Mr. Redd said that he would not participate.
The Kennedy Center sued, accusing Mr. Redd of breaking an agreement to appear at the concert. He argued that no enforceable contract existed.
“It is undisputed that Redd did not sign the 2025 Agreement that the Center provided,” the judge wrote.
According to court papers, the center said it sustained damages “from lost good will with the public, wasted marketing expenses, and sunk costs preparing for a concert that did not occur.”