Bankruptcy Team Prevails in National Celebrity Case

In the case of Curtis Jackson III a/k/a 50 Cent, Pullman & Comley’s Bankruptcy team successfully thwarted the rapper’s attempt to derail the trial in the case of Lastonia Leviston v. Curtis Jackson III, in which Ms. Leviston was suing Mr. Jackson for his release on his commercial website of a private, intimate tape which was never intended to be disclosed or made public. A jury had concluded that Mr. Jackson must pay our creditor client Ms. Leviston $5 million in compensatory damages. Mr. Jackson filed his bankruptcy petition in Hartford fifteen minutes before the start of a scheduled hearing on whether he must pay our client punitive damages on top of the $5 million. On the same day that Mr. Jackson filed, our attorneys filed an emergency motion for relief from the automatic stay asking the Bankruptcy Court to allow the punitive stage of the trial to continue, despite the bankruptcy filing. Our bankruptcy team successfully obtained an expedited hearing and within the week, the Bankruptcy Court granted an order allowing the trial to proceed to conclusion.

The jury, which was being held at the request of Ms. Leviston, heard evidence the following Monday and awarded punitive damages in the amount of $2 million for a total verdict in favor of Leviston in the amount of $7 million.