LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rap impresario Marion "Suge" Knight has been ordered to pay $107 million to a woman who said she helped found his ground-breaking music label, but was pushed out after Knight realized how valuable Death Row Records was.
A Los Angeles judge ordered Knight to pay Lydia Harris $47 million in economic and noneconomic damages and $60 million in punitive damages, according to a March 9 order.
Superior Court Judge Ronald Sohigian issued the default judgement after ruling Knight and his attorneys failed to comply with his order to share evidence with Harris and her attorneys in preparation for trial.
Neither Knight's lawyer, Dermot D. Givens, nor his publicist could be reached for comment.
David Casselman, an attorney for Harris, said his client faced a new battle in trying to collect from Death Row and Knight.
"It's difficult to say what his total assets are, but we believe that between the interest that he owns in Death Row Records assets and real property that he has transferred into names of associates, it's a considerable amount," Casselman said. "It's tens of millions of dollars."
Casselman said Harris must now fight "the transfers of property to people who are hiding it ... for him."
Knight founded the label now known as Tha Row Inc. in 1992, signing some of the world's biggest rap artists, including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. His label dominated rap music for much of the 1990s.
Harris, a music producer and aspiring singer, and her husband invested money in the company at its founding on the belief that she would be a 50 percent owner, Casselman said.
Harris' husband was in prison at the time and was not legally able to have an ownership interest in a business, he said.
Harris was initially listed on corporate documents as a vice president but was later dropped from the corporate charter without her knowledge, he said.
The company began to lose ground in 1996, when Knight was imprisoned for five years for violating probation on an assault charge.
Knight was released in 2001 but went back to jail two years later for punching a parking attendant at a Hollywood nightclub.
The rap mogul also has had his share of troubles in civil court. He was sued in 2003 by attorneys who said he failed to pay legal fees, and by the mother and wife of fellow rappers who claimed he defamed them in a song he produced.
BWAHAHHAHAHHAHA
A Los Angeles judge ordered Knight to pay Lydia Harris $47 million in economic and noneconomic damages and $60 million in punitive damages, according to a March 9 order.
Superior Court Judge Ronald Sohigian issued the default judgement after ruling Knight and his attorneys failed to comply with his order to share evidence with Harris and her attorneys in preparation for trial.
Neither Knight's lawyer, Dermot D. Givens, nor his publicist could be reached for comment.
David Casselman, an attorney for Harris, said his client faced a new battle in trying to collect from Death Row and Knight.
"It's difficult to say what his total assets are, but we believe that between the interest that he owns in Death Row Records assets and real property that he has transferred into names of associates, it's a considerable amount," Casselman said. "It's tens of millions of dollars."
Casselman said Harris must now fight "the transfers of property to people who are hiding it ... for him."
Knight founded the label now known as Tha Row Inc. in 1992, signing some of the world's biggest rap artists, including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. His label dominated rap music for much of the 1990s.
Harris, a music producer and aspiring singer, and her husband invested money in the company at its founding on the belief that she would be a 50 percent owner, Casselman said.
Harris' husband was in prison at the time and was not legally able to have an ownership interest in a business, he said.
Harris was initially listed on corporate documents as a vice president but was later dropped from the corporate charter without her knowledge, he said.
The company began to lose ground in 1996, when Knight was imprisoned for five years for violating probation on an assault charge.
Knight was released in 2001 but went back to jail two years later for punching a parking attendant at a Hollywood nightclub.
The rap mogul also has had his share of troubles in civil court. He was sued in 2003 by attorneys who said he failed to pay legal fees, and by the mother and wife of fellow rappers who claimed he defamed them in a song he produced.
BWAHAHHAHAHHAHA