'Nikita' lawsuit meritless: Elton John

New York, April 28 (IANS) The representatives of singer Elton John have rubbished allegations that he has stolen the lyrics for his song "Nikita", insisting the lawsuit is completely meritless.

Guy Hobbs, a photo-journalist and lyricist, has filed a lawsuit at federal court in Illinois, stating that he wrote a song called "Natasha", about his affair with a Russian cruise ship waitress, back in 1982, reports nypost.com.

He alleges that Elton's 1985 song penned by his long-term collaborator Bernie Taupin bears significant similarities to his own track, which was copyrighted and distributed to multiple publishing companies, including Big Pig which handles the singer's songs, several years earlier.

"Sir Elton and Mr. Taupin do not know the plaintiff, nor did they make use of any song lyrics he claims to have written when they wrote 'Nikita'," Elton's representatives said in a statement.

"In short, the suit is completely meritless. The fact that Hobbs has chosen to wait more than 26 years after the release of 'Nikita' to bring this lawsuit calls his motives into question. Sir Elton John and Mr. Taupin fully expect to prevail against this baseless claim," the statement further said.

Hobbs is suing for copyright infringement and demanding unspecified damages. He said it has taken him over two decades to take legal action because he moved to Africa in 1984.