Kevin Liles, a longtime music industry executive and now the CEO of 300 Elektra Entertainment, is fighting a sexual assault lawsuit that is more than 20 years old. Liles filed a motion in a New York court, requesting that the court dismiss the case, describing the allegations as expired and without merit.
The lawsuit, filed by another former Def Jam staff member who remains anonymous, accuses Liles of a "pattern" of harassment and abuse occurring from 2000 to 2002. The accusations include instances of rape, groping, and continuous improper comments while working under Liles at Def Jam. Liles also exerted considerable influence on this label at the peak of its early 2000s renaissance.
Check out this article.
Liles' legal team answered with an intelligent and strategic defense. They maintain that the complaint should be dismissed for two reasons: the decree of limitations expired long ago, and the lawsuit does not contain the specific detail necessary to proceed in a courtroom. According to the motion, the claims fail to meet the legal standards for clarity and substantiation.
However, the legal window that allowed for this suit is relatively new. The complaint was filed under the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law, which was amended in 2022 to give survivors of gender-based violence a limited-time window to file old cases that time limits had previously barred. That window stays open until March 1, 2025.
Liles is not the only heavyweight music corporation named as a co-defendant. Universal Music Group and Def Jam Recordings are also named in the suit. The lawsuit claims that both companies knew or should have known about Liles' alleged misconduct and were instrumental in facilitating the behavior. That language doesn't just suggest a more significant critique of the accused but of a culture that allowed for silence, or even complicity, within the industry at that time.
The stakes for Liles are high not only legally but also reputationally. A titan of hip-hop and R&B, he has propelled or supported some of music's biggest names over the past few decades. Now, with his dismissal motion, he wants to restate these serious allegations before the case gains more traction in the courts.
Whether the judge will agree that the case is too old and vague to proceed is yet to be seen. Even decades-old accusations can have a long reach in a modern age of accountability. The music industry still grapples with its past, and this case is yet another indication that some stories, however old, still might have chapters to tell.
0 Comments