50 Cent Loses Bid to Delay Sex-Tape Case Proceedings
Despite rapper’s bankruptcy filing, a jury can now assess punitive damages
Tim Kenneally | July 17, 2015 @ 1:32 PM
Last Updated: July 21, 2015 @ 12:10 PM
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Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has been denied in his attempt to delay proceedings in a legal case involving a sex tape he leaked online.
The rapper, who declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a jury rendered a $5 million verdict against him in the case, lost a bid to keep an automatic stay in the case in place. Which means that a jury can go forward in determining whether punitive damages can be levied on the hip-hop mogul.
Jackson was successfully sued by Lastonia Leviston, who accused the rapper of posting a sex tape of her online, presumably to humiliate fellow rapper Rick Ross, with whom Leviston has a child. (The video depicts Leviston with another man.)
Earlier this month, a jury awarded $5 million to Leviston, and proceedings to determine punitive damages were to follow. Jackson quickly filed bankruptcy.
On Monday, Leviston filed a motion for relief from the automatic stay that the case would have been placed under as part of the Bankruptcy Code, contending, among other things, that a verdict had already been entered and that “the only matter left to resolve in the State Court is whether there are punitive damages to be awarded.”
Jackson’s legal team fired off an objection to Leviston’s motion on Thursday, arguing that he filed bankruptcy “to obtain the full protections of the bankruptcy laws, including the benefit of the automatic stay, in order to reorganize his financial affairs in a reasonable and timely manner.”
The objection also played up Jackson’s modest upbringing, noting, “Given the publicity that Mr. Jackson’s Chapter 11 filing has triggered, it is easy to forget that Mr. Jackson grew up in poverty in South Jamaica, a rough neighborhood of Queens, New York.”
But bankruptcy judge Ann M. Nevins wasn’t buying Jackson’s argument. On Friday, she ruled in Leviston’s favor writing, “the automatic stay … is hereby terminated” and that the New York State Supreme Court “may proceed to the entry of a judgment.”
Leviston’s attorney, Philip Freidin, said that Friday’s ruling would allow “the jury that has worked so hard for a month hearing evidence to complete its work.”
“We are pleased that Judge Nevins has allowed us to resume this case in New York on Monday. This allows the jury that has worked so hard for a month hearing evidence, to complete its work,” Freidin said. “Once again, we have overcome another delay allowing us to finally get back to Lastonia Leviston’s pursuit of justice against Mr. Curtis Jackson III, aka 50 Cent. I urge you all to familiarize yourself with the evidence and the jury’s findings that Mr. Jackson intentionally invaded my client Ms. Lastonia Leviston’s privacy and intentionally inflicted severe emotional distress on her.”
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
Hollywood's Most Outrageous Lawsuits (Photos)
Between Lindsay Lohan firing back at Fox News, Mariah Carey allegedly short changing her domestic help, and Sly Stone winning millions after suing his ex-manager -- stars often turn to the courts to address their squabbles and strife.
Lindsay Lohan filed suit against Fox News and Sean Hannity on Feb. 2, 2015, after a news correspondent accused Lohan's mom of snorting cocaine with her troubled daughter. It didn't take long for Fox to fire back. “We will defend this case to the fullest,” the network told TheWrap the next day.
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A former nanny for Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon filed a lawsuit on Jan. 28, 2015, alleging she was fired after showing the couple's kids too much affection and did not receive overtime pay despite working 100 hours per week.
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Legendary funk artist Sly Stone won $5 million on Jan. 27, 2015, after suing his former manager and entertainment attorney for misappropriating royalties owed him for more than 20 years.
Former “Real Housewives of Orange County” executive producers Patrick Moses and Kevin Kaufman filed a suit against Bravo in Nov. 2014, claiming they were deceitfully ousted from the show and bilked out of millions of dollars after helping to create the show and the franchise.
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Jessie Nizewitz, a contestant on VH1’s “Dating Naked,” filed suit in New York in Aug. 2014, seeking $10 million in damages for emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment after the show allegedly failed to properly blur her genitals.
VH1
Octavia Spencer was awarded $940,000 in Dec. 2014 after claiming a weight loss company, Sensa Products Inc., wrongfully fired her from an endorsement deal and still owed her money.
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Former Tinder executive Whitney Wolfe filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former company June 2014, alleging she was repeatedly called a "whore" by CMO Justin Mateen and was stripped of her co-founder title simply for being a woman.
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Former TMZ producer Jarrett Gaeta slapped his former employer with a lawsuit in June 2014, claiming he was wrongly terminated. Gaeta was let go after a subordinate accused him of "racist behavior," including defending blackface and sending pictures of watermelons to African-American employees.
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CNN America was sued in Aug. 2014 by a pair of plaintiffs who claim that correspondent Arwa Damon bit one of them and threatened both during a drunken altercation at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
"Boardwalk Empire" actress Paz de la Huerta sued Lionsgate in Aug. 2014 claiming she was run over by an ambulance while filming "Nurse 3D." Lionsgate filed a motion to dismiss, which De La Huerta opposed on Jan. 23, 2015. Lionsgate then opposed her opposition on Jan. 30, 2015, in a seemingly neverending loop of opposing motions.
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Rapper Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP Rocky, was sued in civil court in June 2014 for allegedly assaulting a woman while making his way through a crowd during the 2013 Made in America Festival.
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Nicki Minaj’s former hairstylist and wig designer filed a $30 million lawsuit against the rapper in 2014 for allegedly stealing his wig designs and costing him a potential reality show. A judge later dismissed the case for lack of sufficient evidence.
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West filed suit against YouTube founder Chad Hurley on Oct. 31, 2013, claiming he posted a video of the couple’s surprise engagement to his website without permission. The process was delayed when Hurley’s reps filed an anti-SLAPP motion in an attempt to have the case dismissed.
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Jahmel Binion filed a lawsuit against Shaquille O’Neal in July 2014 when O’Neal posted a photo to his Instagram account mocking Binion, who suffers from a rare condition that causes facial abnormalities, sparse hair and missing teeth. Binion claimed defamation, emotional distress and invasion of privacy in the $25,000 lawsuit, and after pressure from the public O’Neal apologized.
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In 2014 singer Chris Brown was mentioned in a lawsuit filed by the cousin of artist Frank Ocean. The defendant claimed Brown and an associate allegedly kicked and punched him when he confronted them about parking in a spot designated for Ocean at a Los Angeles recording studio. Ocean, who was also injured, later said he wouldn't seek criminal or civil penalties.
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From embezzlement to slander, there’s no shortage of celebrity court action
Between Lindsay Lohan firing back at Fox News, Mariah Carey allegedly short changing her domestic help, and Sly Stone winning millions after suing his ex-manager -- stars often turn to the courts to address their squabbles and strife.