Nicki Minaj and her attorney are suing an opposing attorney who filed a lawsuit against the rapper last year, calling his behavior in the case “reprehensible” and “shameful” and demanding sanctions against him.
The scathing new filing came in a lawsuit filed in August by Jennifer Hough against Minaj and her husband Kenneth Petty. Hough claimed that Petty had raped her decades earlier and the two had bullied her into not talking about it; Minaj and Petty have strongly denied the charges and say Hough is trying to get a settlement from wealthy celebrities.
But in January, Minaj was removed from the case without explanation. Now his attorney Judd Burstein wants tough legal penalties against Tyrone Blackburnone of the attorneys who represented Hough in his case.
“Mr. Blackburn’s conduct in this case has been disgraceful,” Burstein wrote in a Monday filing. obligation to their clients, the court, opposing counsel, and the legal profession itself not to pursue bad faith, frivolous, and even extortionate litigation in such a reprehensible manner.
In a statement to Billboard On Tuesday, Blackburn strongly refuted the allegations, calling Burstein’s demand for sanctions “baseless.”
Monday’s strongly worded filing should come as no surprise. When Minaj was removed from the case in January, a leaked email showed Burstein telling Blackburn he would “make you pay” for filing a lawsuit that would have drained Minaj of $300,000 in legal fees. .
In the new filing, Burstein made good on that threat by accusing a wide range of misconduct against Blackburn. For example, he said opposing attorney falsely claimed in legal documents that Minaj was a member of a Queens street gang called the Makk Ballers — a move Burstein called a “bad faith effort.” to generate extremely negative media coverage”.
The filing also accused Blackburn of including false allegations against Burstein himself, such as a letter filed on public record that accused Burstein of having a “morbid obsession” with the wife of Steven Gordon, one of the former Hough’s lawyers. Burstein called the claim “outrageous” and “designed solely to harass him and tarnish his reputation.”
“No lawyer should be allowed to walk away unscathed after making an allegation like this – particularly because Mr Blackburn knew it would end up in the public domain due to the media and other attention given to the case. record in this case,” Burstein wrote.
In terms of specific punishment, Minaj and Burstein want a ruling requiring Blackburn to reimburse legal costs incurred in defending the case, as well as an order referring him to the court’s disciplinary committee for possible further sentencing.
In a response package also filed on Monday, Blackburn said it had evidence to support the disputed claims about Makk Ballers and Gordon, and made various different allegations.
Hough filed a lawsuit last August, claiming she was raped by Petty in 1994 and then bullied into keeping quiet. She said she was “traumatized all her life” and then harassed by Minaj and Petty and their “allies, legal teams and fans”.
“Nicki Minaj, directly and indirectly, contacted Plaintiff Hough’s family members to ensure that Plaintiff waived her lawful claim that Defendant Petty raped her,” Hough wrote at the time.
But in January, amid procedural wrangling over how the case should proceed, Hough voluntarily fired Minaj from the case without an explanation. Lawyers for the accuser threatened to refile the case against her California, but do not appear to have done so.
In Monday’s filing, Burstein said those threats made it even more important to punish Blackburn.
“He arrogantly and incomprehensibly maintains that his conduct in this matter was proper,” Burstein wrote. “He should not be allowed to walk away from this Court believing he is free to victimize Ms Maraj a second time with the same baseless allegations.”
The case against Petty continues, with Hough seeking a motion for a so-called default judgment against him for his alleged failure to respond quickly to the case. This request is pending and awaits a decision from the judge.
