Snoop Dogg and Death Row Records file motion to dismiss $107 million lawsuit
Snoop Dogg is moving to dismiss a $107 million lawsuit against him and Death Row Records. Lydia Harris, the ex-wife of Death Row co-founder Michael ‘Harry-O’ Harris, also a former label executive, claims Snoop, Suge Knight, Interscope Records, Time Warner, and Universal Music Group failed to pay her a judgment from a 2005 court order.
Harris alleges she invested $1.5 million to launch Death Row in 1989 but wasn’t paid when the label started profiting. She claims all parties in the lawsuit conspired to keep her from her rightful earnings.
However, Snoop filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming the accusations exceeded the statute of limitations. Snoop and his legal team have accused Harris of being a “bad faith litigant” who “continued a pattern of harassment in California for years and has now shifted her harassment to a new forum in Texas.”
Harris is seeking punitive damages, asset recovery, and a full accounting of the label’s finances, having originally sued Death Row in 2002.
A few years ago, Snoop became the new owner of Death Row, releasing his last two albums, Bacc on Death Row and Missionary, through the label. It was a full circle moment for Snoop, who dropped his first two albums, Doggystyle and Tha Dogfather, on Death Row.
“I am thrilled and appreciative of the opportunity to acquire the iconic and culturally significant Death Row Records brand, which has immense untapped future value,” he said after acquiring the iconic label. “It feels good to have ownership of the label I was part of at the beginning of my career and as one of the founding members. This is an extremely meaningful moment for me.”
His next project, Altar Call, is a gospel album that will be released on April 27th as a tribute to his late mother.