Mariah Carey got a nice win in court last week when a federal judge ruled that a copyright-infringement case against her lacked merit. Singer Rachele Chafir had sued Mariah back in April 2006, claiming that Carey’s hit “It’s Like That” was copied from her song “Sexy” and lifted key pieces for the chorus.

Chafir, who copyrighted the song in 2004, claimed Mariah had access to “Sexy” since it was available on a Web site, but U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood decided that wasn’t proof Carey or her collaborators had gone to the Web site or lifted the material, which wasn’t “strikingly similar” enough to be considered infringement. With “no genuine issues of material fact,” Wood closed the case.

“It was the right decision,” Carey’s lawyer Ilene Farkas stated. “The record was clear in this case.” Meanwhile, Carey is moving on with her yet-untitled follow-up to The Emancipation of Mimi, which her record label confirmed is now due December 4, 2007.