A musician who unsuccessfully sued Sarah McLachlan [ tickets ] for copyright infringement has been ordered to pay $250,000 Canadian (about $170,000 U.S.) to cover a portion of McLachlan�s court costs, according to a Canadian Press report. British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen dismissed the case against McLachlan, her label and her management in December.

Darryl Neudorf, a former drummer for the Canadian band 54-40, claimed he deserved a co-writing credit and payment for four songs from McLachlan's 1988 debut album "Touch." He is credited on the album for "pre-production co-ordination and production assistance," for which he was paid about $3,300. He filed his suit more than a decade after the album�s release.

A written ruling issued last week by Cohen said that Neudorf failed to prove his allegations, turned down a settlement offer, and forced a 39-day Supreme Court trial in British Columbia.

"I found, amongst other things, that there was an absence of evidence to prove many of the plaintiff's allegations, and I did not think that either of the defendant McLachlan or the defendant Jowett were lying or attempting to mislead the court, as plaintiff's counsel had so strongly suggested in his submissions," Cohen wrote.

McLachlan, label Nettwerk Productions Ltd. and McLachlan�s managers Mark Jowett and Terry McBride spent nearly $520,000 Canadian ($350,000 U.S.) on the case, their lawyer told the Canadian Press.

Neudorf reportedly filed for bankruptcy in April and has appealed the judge�s decision.