Damon Dash has reportedly been forced to sell his stake in Roc-A-Fella Records, the company he co-founded with JAY-Z and Kareem Burke.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, one-third of Dash will be sold by U.S. Marshals at a public auction in Manhattan on August 29. Potential bidders must register for the auction by emailing attorney Christopher Brown, who also represents director Josh Weber.
Of course, Weber was awarded over $800,000 in a 2022 civil judgment against Dash over copyright infringement and defamation for the film Dear Frank. The purpose of the auction was to pay off debts that included Dash’s most valuable asset, JAY-Z’s Reasonable Doubt. Pricing starts at $1.2 million, and buyers must be able to put down a 20 percent deposit, or $240,000, at the time of sale.
In April 2022, Dame Dash suffered a huge loss in court, with a jury awarding $805,000 in damages to Webber and Muddy Water Pictures. Shortly after the news broke, Dash shared a screenshot of the TMZ story on his Instagram account and swore that was not the end of the story.
“You have to lose some battles to win the war… Stay tuned.” he wrote. #fatliars #youllneverbeme. Don’t ever say you directed my movie.
Dame Dash was originally hired to direct the film in 2016, but ultimately left the project after being deemed unsuitable for the job. Webb and Muddy Waters claimed that he was always excited on set while filming the film at his Sherman Oaks estate and decided to finish the film without him.
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In 2019, they sued Dash for copyright infringement and defamation, claiming he was trying to appropriate Dear Frank as his own. They also claim he sent promotional material to networks like BET but changed the title of the film to “The List.” Dahm contends they shot the film in his home using all his equipment and then stole the footage to make the film themselves.
Brown, who represents the plaintiffs, said at the time, “I will get every penny my clients deserve.”
Two years later, Alex Spiro, an attorney for JAY-Z and Roc-A-Fella Records, filed a lawsuit against Dash, accusing him of trying to auction Reasonable Doubt as an NFT without permission. But Dash disputed that claim and insisted he was simply trying to sell his stake in Roc-A-Fella.
The situation became more serious in July 2021 when Dash filed a countersuit against JAY-Z and Roc-A-Fella in New York Supreme Court, alleging that JAY-Z wrongly asserted reasonable doubt streaming rights for himself. The lawsuit alleges that JAY-Z transferred the album’s streaming rights to S. Carter Enterprises LLC without Roc-A-Fella’s authorization.
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Dash is seeking at least $1 million in damages for unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty, refills and conversions. When reached for comment, Spiro called the lawsuit “nothing more than a frivolous stunt,” but Dash and his attorney, Natraj Bhushan, disagreed.
“From my perspective, it’s all about devaluing this asset,” Dash said in a phone interview with reporter Kyle Eustice at the time. “I just don’t understand why. The weird thing is. , they know I only want to sell a third, but they try to say I try to sell the whole thing but we all know that’s not the case, so why are they saying that? Important? Why is everyone so afraid of me selling my third?
Dash also doesn’t understand why JAY-Z or Burke didn’t just pick up the phone. He added: “Honestly, I think it’s corny. If you have a problem, call me. Why do I have to listen? Why do I have to be sued? Biggs, Jay, call me and tell me The content of my game, but if you guys throw a punch at me, I have to fight back.
“When I say that, I mean I’m looking for what’s under the hood right now, which seems crazy, but I do believe I don’t need all of that. I’m trying to live my life. I’m the one who always says That’s who they want us to be. They want us to fight for them culturally, and they’re watching us, and that’s exactly what’s happening.
