A New York judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Mary J. Blige by her former friend and stylist Misa Hylton, issuing a sharp rebuke over the plaintiff’s failure to defend her claims. In a ruling entered Tuesday, Judge Phaedra F. Perry-Bond granted Blige’s motion to dismiss after Hylton missed the deadline to respond. The judge said Hylton’s inaction amounted to an abandonment of her allegations and warned against filing high-dollar lawsuits based on inflammatory accusations only to walk away when challenged.

“The court in no way condones parties filing lawsuits claiming millions in damages based on inflammatory accusations, only to have those very same parties abandon their allegations when faced with a motion to dismiss and sanctions,” Judge Perry-Bond wrote. While stopping short of imposing sanctions, the court cautioned that the written warning could weigh heavily in any future application should similar conduct continue.

Hylton, who helped style Blige during the early 1990s, including the rollout of the singer’s 1992 album What’s the 411?, filed suit on April 29 accusing Blige of trying to coerce Harlem rapper Vado (born Teeyon Winfree) into leaving her management company. Hylton alleged Blige sought to move the artist to her own company, Beautiful Life Productions, and intentionally excluded Hylton from meetings held in “intimate and inappropriate” settings, ultimately sabotaging her relationship with the musician. Blige’s attorneys countered that Hylton had no viable case, arguing her company was not a valid New York corporation and that she was not a licensed talent agent. They also contended the lawsuit was filed out of personal animus and lacked legal merit. Neither Hylton, Winfree, nor their attorney responded to requests for comment following the ruling.