Judge Disses Auntie Em Suit
 

Eminem's latest family feud is almost history--at least as far as the legal system is concerned.

After a bummer of a summer for the rapper, a Michigan judge gave Eminem some good news, dismissing the bulk of a lawsuit filed by his aunt and uncle.

Betty and Jack Schmitt filed a complaint in August claiming their nephew, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, was trying to evict them from a suburban Detroit house he had built for them and had also reneged on a promise to pay them an annual stipend of $100,000. The couple sought $350,000 in cash and ownership of the home.

The Schmitts said they had made the move from St. Joseph, Missouri (where Eminem grew up), to Michigan three years at the behest of the rapper. They said Eminem purchased a vacant lot, but never officially transferred the title to them.

In their lawsuit, the Schmitts said the rapper promised them payments in excess of $500,000 and a house worth up to $350,000, but had only given them $165,000. They were forced to go the lawsuit route, they claim, after receiving an eviction notice on July 13.

On Monday, Macomb County Circuit Judge Mary Chrzanowski tossed most of the Schmitt suit, per the Detroit Free Press, siding with Team Eminem, who said there was no written contract to back up the Schmitts complaint.

Chrzanowski did, however, let certain aspects of the case live on. The judge said the couple could pursue the allegation that he unjustly profited from the improvements they made to the property.

The Schmitts have 14 days to decide whether to appeal the ruling and attempt to have the claims reinstated.

Eminem, meanwhile, must give a deposition in the case sometime in the next 45 days, Chrzanowski ruled.

The court victory comes after several setbacks for the hit-making hip-hopster.

In July, members of Eminem's crew were seriously injured in a serious tour bus accident during the Anger Management 3 tour. While Eminem was not on board the coach when it overturned, he was among those targeted in a lawsuit filed by a truck driver and his wife, both of whom were injured in the highway pile-up. That suit is still pending.

A month after the accident, the rapper canceled the European leg of Anger Management and checked himself into rehab for an addiction to sleep medication. He spent a month in the facility before returning to the studio to work on his upcoming greatest hits album, Curtain Call, and finish adding vocals to a track by slain rap icon Notorious B.I.G. for the upcoming Notorious B.I.G. Duets: The Final Chapter.

Meanwhile, after recently settling a lawsuit with Apple Computer over the unauthorized use of a song, Eminem can currently be seen on TV in a new iPod/iTunes ad from the company.