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Legal
A second lawsuit launched in Death Row fallout
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 1 December 2009
More on the court battle between the seminal hip hop label Death Row’s new boss and her financial backers now, which is ensuring there’s plenty of material for the sequel to the still to be written musical, ‘Death Row: A Hip Hop Story’.
As previously reported, Lara Lavi, who led the second acquisition of Death Row after its original bankruptcy, has fallen out with the investors who backed her purchase, a company called New Solutions. She has accused them of dodgy financial dealings, and they have been ordered by the New York courts to not enter into any transactions on behalf of Death Row pending a full court hearing.
We knew all that yesterday. But now we know that Lavi herself has also been accused of financial dodgy-ness, though this time through the Canadian courts (her company and her investors are based in Canada).
Lavi’s business partners seem to be accusing her of depositing Death Row royalty cheques into her own personal bank account. Which, if true, would definitely count as financial dodgy-ness. They are using those allegations as justification for firing Lavi as Death Row CEO, and have now got themselves a Canadian court order banning her from entering the record company’s offices.
The new court ruling also demands Lavi hand over emails relating to the record company, and that a copy of the Canadian court papers be posted on the Death Row website (and they have been).
I’m not sure what will now happen with regards to all this, as Lavi is pursuing action against her backers through the American courts, while the backers pursue action against Lavi through the Canadian courts. New Solutions argue that Lavi set up a new company in New York earlier this month simply to launch legal action against them, foreseeing her pending dismissal as Death Row CEO. But, they argue, the all new Death Row is and always has been based in Canada, so the dispute does not fall under the New York court’s jurisdiction.
What we do know is that the case is due to be reconsidered by the New York courts on 3 Dec, while the Canadian courts will give the issue some quality time on 7 Dec. So, plenty more fun ahead for the hip hop label that’s has, for a long time, been more prolific in the litigation game than the record releasing business.
