Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg sue former business partner for fraud
Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg have filed a lawsuit against a former business partner, alleging fraud over their Mount Westmore group.
The two West Coast rappers countersued Westside Merchandising this week after being hit with a $1.3 million lawsuit in October.
According to TMZ, Cube and Snoop claim Westside made false promises as part of their licensing deal, which was a key reason why they inked a deal in the first place.
The supergroup, Mount Westmore, consisting of Cube, Snoop, E-40, and Too Short, teamed up with the company surrounding their debut album in 2022.
Seeking unspecified damages, they allege that Westside failed to provide accounting after the company claimed it could make money through retail stores.
Cube and Snoop say reports stated that merchandise sold $808,000 from concerts, over $90,000 from stores, and $13,000 in e-commerce sales. Despite being paid an advance, they claim Westside failed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars, per the contract.
Westside’s lawyer, John Fowler, issued a statement on the countersuit, accusing them of making false allegations.
“The countersuit is full of falsehoods and fabrication, and reeks of desperation,” he said. “The purpose is clearly to distract from their own fraud and contractual breaches which are outlined very clearly in our own amended complaint. To date, the other side has lost every motion they’ve brought in this case, and they are trying to cover up the mounting losses by filing a frivolous claim.”
He continued, “The case is simple: the other side defrauded my client out of over $1.3 million, and caused many millions more in damages for failing to perform the services they promised. The Court has repeatedly denied the other side’s attempts to shield itself from basic discovery, even accusing the opposing lawyers of ‘borderline insubordination’ on the record. We look forward to trying this case.”
Westside initially sued Cube and Snoop for breach of contract, fraud, conversion and other claims in November 2024, alleging they paid $1.3 million and that the rappers didn’t stick to their 60-date tour plan.