Roc-A-Fella Records’ co-founder has been ordered by a judge to sell his remaining shares in order to pay off a six-figure debt that was incurred two years ago, thus Dame Dash’s ambitions of “taking back” the label may be in jeopardy.
According to Radar Online, Dash allegedly refused to pay movie producer Josh Webber $823K, so U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger ordered the Harlem hustler to sell his one-third ownership in Roc-A-Fella in order to meet the judgment. Following a dispute over the 2016 movie Dear Frank, Webber sued the businessman for copyright infringement and defamation, winning the case in 2022.
JAY-Z and fellow Roc-A-Fella head Kareem “Biggs” Burke objected to the auction of Dame’s shares, arguing that the company bylaws require prior approval from the board of directors prior to the sale, despite years of animosity between them. However, it was determined by Judge Lehrburger that his portion of the property is a personal asset subject to seizure for the purpose of settling his debts.
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Leherburger wrote in his 15-page decision, “The central issue in this dispute is whether the prohibition on transferring and selling Dash’s one-third ownership interest in RAF shares without the approval of RAF’s board of directors legally precludes the sale of Dash’s interest in RAF to satisfy the Judgment” as stated in the RAF By-Laws. “The unquestionable response is no.”
“In the absence of the authority to enforce a judgment rendered by a federal court, the judicial power bestowed by the Constitution would be deficient and completely unsuitable for its intended objectives.” In response to the initial verdict, Dash expressed his thoughts on social media.
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Who Does Dame Owe Money To?
Film producer Josh Webber filed a defamation and copyright infringement lawsuit against Dame in January 2019 due to a disagreement over the 2019 movie Dear Frank. A judge sided with Webber in September 2022 and mandated that Dame give him $705,400 in addition to $117,884.71 in legal fees. Since Dame hasn’t paid, Webber has been pushing for the seizure of Dame’s belongings in order to satisfy the debt.
Dame Has to Give Up his Roc-a-Fella Stock
XXL verified through court documents on Thursday, February 22, that on February 13, a judge issued an order for Dame Dash to sell his interest in Roc-a-Fella Records in order to settle his obligation for a lawsuit. As to the court document, Dame is not against the relocation. Still, the other two-thirds of Roc-a-Fella, Kareem “Biggs” Burke and Jay-Z, have opposed the sale.
The judge approved the order in spite of the opposition, enabling the sale to proceed. After the order date, Roc-a-Fella has twenty-one days to deliver a certificate proving Dame’s ownership of the business. After receiving the certificate, Dame has ten days to transfer his ownership stake.