Snoop Dogg and Suge Knight have been hit with a jaw-dropping $107 million lawsuit by a woman claiming not only that she was a cofounder of Death Rown Records but the label’s first vice president as well.
On Tuesday (March 18), in Texas, Lydia Harris filed suit against Snoop and Knight, as well as Death Row Records, Interscope Records and music executive Jimmy Iovine, alleging the group used underhanded tactics to cheat her out of a nine-figure judgement she’d already been granted.
Snoop was added the suit in light of the fact that he is the current owner of Death Row Records, which he acquired in 2022 through a deal with MNRK Music Group.
Snoop Dogg attends the world premiere of Prime Video’s “The Underdoggs” at the Culver Theater on January 23, 2024 in Culver City, California.
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Harris, the wife of convicted drug kingpin and former Death Row Records financier Michael “Harry-O” Harris, was awarded the original judgement in 2005 in adjudication of a civil trial over the couple’s role in founding the music label.
Now, however, Lydia is alleging that Knight and the others hid financial records, filed fraudulent motions and even abused bankruptcy court to avoid the judgement. She claims that she’s yet to receive any payment in the 20 years since she won the explosive suit against Knight and his alleged conspirators.
Marion “Suge” Knight appears in Los Angeles court for a pretrial hearing at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on January 21, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Knight is charged with robbery and criminal threats after allegedly stealing a photographer’s camera during an incident September 5, 2014 in Beverly Hills.
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The filing charged Knight with using “systematic misrepresentation and fraudulent telecommunications directed at the Plaintiff in Texas” in their efforts to avoid compensating Harris, who began this legal battle against Knight in 2022.
The Harris’ involvement with Knight and Death Rown dates back to the late ’80s, when Harry-O invested $1.5 million in the nascent label’s launch, with the expectations he and his wife would retain a 50% profit share as a result.
Michael “Harry-O” Harris attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Sony Pictures’ “The Book Of Clarence” at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on January 05, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
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However, Knight and his lawyer at the time, David Kenner, would become increasingly distant and uncommunicative with “Harry-O,” who was serving a 28-year prison sentence for cocaine trafficking, kidnapping, and attempted murder, at the time. Eventually, Lydia Harris was forced to file suit against Knight, revealing the actual origin story of Death Row Records’ and the hitherto unknown players involved.
Michael “Harry-O” Harris attends the premiere Of FX’s “Dear Mama” at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on April 18, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
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