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Rapper 50 Cent And His Lawyers Incurred The Wrath Of A New York Judge On Tuesday (26may15) After Failing To Show Up In A New York Court To Begin Jury Selection As Part Of A Defamation Trial.
The In Da Club star is being sued by Lastonia Leviston, who shares a son with rival rapper Rick Ross, amid allegations 50 Cent is responsible for leaking her sex tape with her then-boyfriend Maurice Murray in 2009.
50 Cent had apparently edited the video in an attempt to embarrass Ross, blurring Murray's face and inserting an image of himself into the footage, while Leviston's features remained visible.
The case is due to go to trial and jury selection was expected to get underway on Tuesday.
However, 50's lawyers instead filed papers to have the lawsuit moved just 10 minutes before the process was due to start, citing a bankruptcy petition he had filed for his boxing company, SMS Promotions, in a federal court in Connecticut this week.
They alerted Leviston's legal team to the change via email, claiming bankruptcy law protects their client from being sued while he is facing financial difficulty, since he is the primary owner of SMS Promotions.
They are seeking the case be moved from state court to federal jurisdiction, but Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Paul Wooten chastised them in a conference call later on Tuesday and insisted that as the notice had not been properly served, he was staying in charge of the case, reports the New York Daily News.
Leviston's lawyers moved for a default judgement, but Wooten deferred the ruling.
50 Cent had previously lost his bid to have the defamation suit dismissed and has since decided to take Ross to court, blaming him for allegedly posting the intimate footage of his ex online first.
http://hub.contactmusic.com/50-cent/...filing_4747532
The In Da Club star is being sued by Lastonia Leviston, who shares a son with rival rapper Rick Ross, amid allegations 50 Cent is responsible for leaking her sex tape with her then-boyfriend Maurice Murray in 2009.
50 Cent had apparently edited the video in an attempt to embarrass Ross, blurring Murray's face and inserting an image of himself into the footage, while Leviston's features remained visible.
The case is due to go to trial and jury selection was expected to get underway on Tuesday.
However, 50's lawyers instead filed papers to have the lawsuit moved just 10 minutes before the process was due to start, citing a bankruptcy petition he had filed for his boxing company, SMS Promotions, in a federal court in Connecticut this week.
They alerted Leviston's legal team to the change via email, claiming bankruptcy law protects their client from being sued while he is facing financial difficulty, since he is the primary owner of SMS Promotions.
They are seeking the case be moved from state court to federal jurisdiction, but Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Paul Wooten chastised them in a conference call later on Tuesday and insisted that as the notice had not been properly served, he was staying in charge of the case, reports the New York Daily News.
Leviston's lawyers moved for a default judgement, but Wooten deferred the ruling.
50 Cent had previously lost his bid to have the defamation suit dismissed and has since decided to take Ross to court, blaming him for allegedly posting the intimate footage of his ex online first.
http://hub.contactmusic.com/50-cent/...filing_4747532
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