Lawyers for the college student who was threatened with a cease and desist lawsuit by Taylor Swift’s team have hit back at the global superstar and declared there is ‘nothing unlawful’ about the tracking of her jet, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Attorneys for Slater Legal PLLC argue that the global superstar ‘failed to identify any legal claim’, and they consider their response will ‘conclude the matter’ after her lawyers sent a threatening legal letter to Jack Sweeney.
The letter, seen by DailyMail.com, also points out that the 21-year-old and his company have used the same publicly available information to track Russian oligarchs and Elon Musk, and are not just targeting Swift.
‘The @taylorswiftjets account is engaged in protected speech that does not violate any of Ms. Swift’s legal rights’, it states.
Sweeney’s lawyer, Ethan Jacobs, also accused Swift’s team of ‘flirting’ with asserting a ‘stalking claim’ under California law which requires someone to make a ‘credible threat’ against a victim.’
Taylor Swift was seen wearing her and Travis Kelce’s custom-made TNT bracelet as she boarded her private jet on Monday during the n leg of her Eras Tour
Swift boarded the aircraft in Melbourne as she headed for her latest Eras Tour stop in Sydney
The popstar’s legal team threatened legal action against 21-year-old Jack Sweeney, a junior at the University of Central Florida, in December over his social media account tracking her flights
Swift’s attorneys wrote Sweeney a cease-and-desist letter saying she would ‘have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies’
They say Sweeney, a junior at the University of Central Florida, has ‘never made any threats’ against the 14-time Grammy winner, and the letter ‘does not suggest’ that he has done so.
It went on: ‘Further, your letter’s tone of alarm is unfounded. Our client’s website only provides the location of private jets using publicly available information. That information poses no threat to Ms. Swift’s safety.
‘We do not know why you believed the best claim against an individual in Florida and his company is a California statute, but that, combined with the absence of any credible legal claim, suggests a groundless effort to intimidate and censor our clients.
‘We doubt Ms. Swift will pursue meritless legal action, but if she does, we will defend our clients’ rights.’
Swift, who is currently on the n leg of her Era’s tour, received the letter through her lawyers on January 25 – around a month after the cease and desist was first sent.
She demanded that the college student stop logging her flights and locations, claiming the accounts caused Swift and her family ‘direct and irreparable harm, as well as emotional and physical distress,’ and heightened her ‘constant state of fear for her personal safety’.
Sweeney’s accounts use publicly available data, and also share the estimates of their planet-warming emissions – with the college student first going head-to-head with Elon Musk in 2022 for sharing his jet’s details.
In the letter obtained by DailyMail.com, Sweeney’s legal team argue that there is ‘nothing unlawful’ about their client using ‘publicly accessible information to track private jets’
Sweeney runs social media accounts that track the takeoffs and landings of private jets owned by Swifts and other celebrities, billionaires and politicians
In the previous December 23 letter authored by Katie Wright Morrone from Venable law firm, the strongly-worded cease and desist accused Sweeney of treating it like a ‘game’
In a statement to DailyMail.com Sweeney said: ‘I think it’s important to note that nowhere do I intend for harm. I actually think Swift has some good songs. I believe in transparency and public information.’
Swift’s attorneys in Washington said the pop superstar would have ‘have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies’ if he did not stop his ‘stalking and harassing behavior’.
The letter, which was sent to Sweeney’s family home, said that there was no ‘legitimate interest in or public need for this information, other than to stalk, harass, and exert dominion and control’.
Authored by Katie Wright Morrone from Venable law firm, the strongly-worded letter accused Sweeney of treating Swift’s safety like a ‘game’.
‘While this may be a game to you, or an avenue that you hope will earn you wealth or fame, it is a life-or-death matter for our client,’ Morrone added.
Swift has seen stalkers show up outside her homes, with one man arrested last month outside her townhouse in Manhattan.
A spokesperson for Swift said they cannot comment on ongoing police investigations, but confirmed that the timing of the most recent arrest ‘suggests a connection’.
‘His posts tell you exactly when and where she would be,’ they added.
Sweeney believes that the letter is an attempt to scare him from sharing public data, adding that he was ‘being more careful’ with what he shared about the pop star.
The letter came in December, around the time Sweeney’s accounts tracking Swift’s jets on Facebook and Instagram were disabled.
A second letter followed, accusing him of ‘harassing’ the star.
He said that the threats of legal action came at a time where Swift was facing a huge backlash over the environmental impacts of her flights while on the road for her Era’s Tour and also jetting across the US to watch her new beau Travis Kelce play in the NFL.
‘This information is already out there, her team thinks they can control the world’, Sweeney said.
Swift has been under pressure to cut down on her carbon emissions after jet-setting across the US to spend time with Kansas Chiefs tight end Kelce, 34, while also performing the international leg of her Era’s tour.
She recently arrived in Sydney on a chartered VistaJet flight from Melbourne, using the same company for her dash to Las Vegas from Tokyo to see Kelce win the Super Bowl LVII.
While many have called on the star to cut down on her travel, it is unlikely that the globetrotting superstar will switch to commercial flights due to security fears – with many speculating she would charter jets instead.
After being crowned 2022’s biggest celebrity polluter of the year, her team was quick to hit back, saying that she loans her planes out and also bought double the amount of carbon emissions tokens than she needed for her touring travel.
But the singer, who announced her 13th album at the Grammys earlier this month, has been hit with a fresh barrage of scrutiny over her planet-warming emissions of carbon dioxide released with every flight.
Based on statistics tracked by Taylor Swift’s Jets on Instagram, the hitmaker’s trips have produced 138 tons of CO2 emission to date.
Swift has been hit with a fresh barraged of scrutiny over her planet-warming emissions of carbon dioxide released with every flight. She’s pictured on her private jet
Sweeney believes that the letter is an attempt to scare him from sharing public data, adding that he was ‘being more careful’ with what he shared about the pop star
His accounts use publicly available data, and also share the estimates of their planet warning emissions – with the college student first going head to head with Elon Musk in 2022 for sharing his jet’s details
The singer would need to plant 2,282 trees and allow these to grow for 10 years in order to offset the environmental damage caused by her flights.
It is the equivalent of the energy used by 17 houses in one year, or the electricity use of 26.9 homes for one year, according to the Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.
After coming out on top in the 2022 pollution rankings, Taylor’s representative hit back, claiming Swift often lets other people take her Falcon 7X jet on jaunts around the world.
However, there is no question she has been onboard the jet during the many flights between Kansas City, New York and several other stops since September.
The journeys have used up 12,622 gallons of jet fuel, which is calculated to be worth a whopping $70,779.
A spokesperson for Swift told DailyMail.com she was working to lessen her jets’ carbon emissions by traveling less frequently than in previous years.
‘Before the tour kicked off in March of 2023, Taylor purchased more than double the carbon credits needed to offset all tour travel,’ the spokesperson explained.
The excess credits means Taylor could have accounted for more than enough to cover her latest romance springing up in the middle of her sell-out tour, with her trips to support Kelce upping her carbon emissions alongside her planned tour travels.