Suge Knight files for bankruptcy

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Suge Knight files for bankruptcy
Move seen as attempt to keep control of Death Row records

Tuesday, April 4, 2006; Posted: 2:43 p.m. EDT (18:43 GMT)


LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight filed for bankruptcy Tuesday to avoid losing control of his Death Row Records label in a $107 million civil court judgment, his lawyers said.

Knight co-founded Death Row in the early 1990s and helped launch the careers of such rap stars as Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur.

But he has failed to make good on a March judgment to pay Lydia Harris, who claimed Knight cheated her out of a 50 percent stake in the music label.

Harris's attorneys have accused Knight of "playing games" to avoid payment to their client.

Two weeks ago, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge said he would appoint a court officer, called a receiver, to take control of Knight's assets, including Death Row.

The judge , Ronald Sohigian, directed Knight to disclose his finances in a debtor's exam set for April 1.

Sohigian said that Knight could petition the court to remove the receiver if he cooperated in providing information about his assets.

But the rap impresario failed to show up for the exam on Saturday.

"He has no choice, the way these people have forced his hand," Knight's new lawyer, Laurence Strick, said on Tuesday.

Strick said he expected to file for bankruptcy for Death Row later in the day.

Another court hearing in the matter also was set for Tuesday, during which the judge could formalize the receivership.

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/04/suge.bankruptcy.reut/index.html

You knew it was going to happen sooner of later.

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Was this already posted?

[Darksider]

smart  move

[J$crILLa]

damn fucked up though

[SlickPants]

suge knight is an asshole. he threatened and intimidated people, cheated people out of their money/ownership, treated his artists and employees like shit, and will say or do anything to grab onto more power.  i mean he did contribute a lot to the west coast, but i think that this serves as a reminder of the wrong way to conduct business.

[Black_Smoke]

yea no doubt suge fucked alot of ppl over

[CRAFTY]

What a sneaky mofo'...Then again, this is Suge we're talking about, so I wasn't expecthing anything different.
It's a smart business move, there's no denying that. But I'd rather see Dre, Snoop and them buying their own catalogue back so they can re-release it in 5.1/surround versions

[Westcoastfanatic]

lol! he ended like Hammer. You might see him on Ophrah pretty soon trying to sell his house and 30 cars.

[xover]

lol! he ended like Hammer. You might see him on Ophrah pretty soon trying to sell his house and 30 cars.

dude will still have the cash to keep him going.this is suge we talking about,he will have $$ here there and every where....-

[Trauma-san]

Suge Knight is a dumbass.  He now no longer owns DeathRow records.  When you file bankruptcy, your possessions stand against your debts.  He, by court order, owes these people over a hundred million dollars, the very, absolute, #1 thing the judge will do is order the record label and all of the stakes in music catalogs Suge has sold to the highest bidder. 

So how is it a smart business move?  It's the ONLY business move, because Suge doesn't have any money and likely pissed it all away.

[CRAFTY]

^^^^You're right. I didn't think of it like that...

[Trauma-san]

Look for Dr. Dre and Snoop to bid on their respective song catalogs.  I imagine Priority is tied up in the masters though, but at least dre or snoop could own their songs in joint with priority or something. 

[o g s u e s o n e]

pure justness. good knight!