Rap mogul Suge Knight faces €85m payout
Rapper Marion “Suge” Knight has been ordered to pay €85m to a woman who claims she helped him start Death Row Records.
A Los Angeles judge said Knight and his lawyers failed to answer questions and provide information in the case.
Judge Ronald Sohigian ordered Knight and his companies to pay Lydia Harris, who claims she is owed money from the recording label she helped establish.
In her lawsuit, which did not reach trial, Harris claimed she and Knight in 1989 became equal founding partners of Death Row Records. When Knight realised how lucrative the label would become, he pushed her out.
She said Knight defamed her in hopes of destroying her credibility in the music industry and with new artists.
“His conduct made it clear that he did not intend to honour his agreement or pay the shares of profit due her,” said her lawyer, David Casselman. “He also publicly insulted her and falsely accused her of promiscuity and incompetence.”
Knight has had a series of legal and criminal troubles.
He was released from prison in 2001 after serving time for assault and weapons violations. He recently served an additional prison sentence for violating his parole and striking a Hollywood nightclub valet.
