Statute of Limitations on a Licensing Claim

[Frosty333]

My question involves business law in the state of: California

Hello.
We have a musician client from 10 years ago who emails out of nowhere and claims he wasn't paid for his music being used. He's considered an independent contractor and we pay all of them.
Can anyone please tell me the statue of limitations on this claim.
The bank no longer has records dating previously to 7 years, and we know this character is just trying to cash in on us in this economy.
Thank you
PS. Also, if you have the civil code for this, we'd greatly appreciate it.

[jk]

from what I could find, an oral contract has a 2 year SOL

a written contract has a 4 year SOL


but I'm not sure that is all you need. You say something about his music being used. Does that mean he wrote some music you have used or are using? or does it mean he was paid to perform for some reason?

[Browne]

If you paid him as an independent contractor then it's 4 years max. I'd just leave it alone and keep doing what you're doing with your business.

[jk]

If you paid him as an independent contractor then it's 4 years max. I'd just leave it alone and keep doing what you're doing with your business.

so, when the OP said:

claims he wasn't paid for his music being used

You don't see that a failure to fulfill a contract of paying for a license could result in a claim of copyright infringement? Depending on what the situation actually involves, this could be more than a simple contract issue. Especially if "his music" is still being used without a license, the infringement could be ongoing.

and since the musician has recently initiated contact, I suspect simply leaving it alone is not an option.