According to the New York Times, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said that the sound of "Oh" in Jay Z's song has "essentially no quantitative significance" to Eddie Bo's original.

In the 15-page decision, Judge Kaplan further explained his ruling. ''Run This Town' bears very little and perhaps no similarity at all to 'Hook and Sling - Part I," Judge Kaplan wrote. 'The melody and lyrics are entirely different. The lyrics do not contain the word 'oh.'"