Damon Dash suffered another legal loss, which cost him $4 million. The Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder has now been slapped with a multimillion-dollar default judgment after a California judge sided against him in a defamation lawsuit by filmmaker Josh Webber.
Dash's legal woes in this case arose not only from his words but also from his conduct or lack of it. Judge John F. Walter ruled after Dash repeatedly failed to meet court requirements, including failing to attend mandatory mediation and file important pre-trial documents. As those violations added up, the judge was not hesitant to order the default judgment, adding Dash to an even deeper financial hole.
The drama dates back to Dash's March 2024 appearance on the "Earn Your Leisure" podcast. Not one to beat around the bush, Dash directly attacked Webber, referring to him as a "d######" and accusing him of stealing from him. He also blamed Webber and attorney Chris Brown, saying they "trigger me and steal my s###."
Given Dash's previous history of legal strife with Webber, it was no time before the latter was embroiled in a lawsuit. According to Webber's lawsuit, Dash's public comments cost him a significant opportunity, a $4 million deal to direct and produce a movie starring Billy Bob Thornton. Webber claimed that Dash's comments, which had amassed hundreds of thousands of online views, caused irreparable damage to his professional reputation and finances.
This is not Dash and Webber's first courtroom clash. Their beef primarily kicked off because of the Dear Frank movie, which Dash previously claimed he had control over. That legal fight concluded with Dash being ordered to pay more than $800,000 in damages to Webber and other producers. The bad blood clearly didn't stop there, culminating in this latest legal defeat.
Dash has stood behind his comments, suggesting on the podcast that his free speech rights were unjustly targeted. "There's no real freedom of speech," he said, implying he was facing punishment merely for stating his opinion. Unfortunately, the court didn't see it that way.
To compound matters, Webber's legal team is now asking that Dash's assets, including his engagement ring, be sold to help pay the enormous judgment. As financial troubles continue to pile up, Dash's position has become increasingly tenuous.
Having received a $4 million judgment, this new ruling to be signed by a judge is only going to make it harder for him to go on without paying out or having his assets seized} It is another episode in an extended saga of legal and financial troubles for the one-time dominant hip-hop mogul. Whether he can regroup or face a future of additional legal battles is uncertain.
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