A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge ruled Friday (July 17) that the woman whose sex tape was posted online by rapper 50 Cent can have her trial continue as scheduled despite the his recent bankruptcy filing.
Lastonia Leviston, ex girlfriend of rapper Rick Ross, won a $5 million verdict from a jury in New York in the sex tape case on July 10. Fifty filed for personal bankruptcy on Monday, the same day that the jury in New York was scheduled to consider punitive damages against the rapper. The filing under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code halted the civil trial in state court in New York City. Total liabilities to Fifty’s top 20 creditors was listed at about $28.5 million. Assets total about $24.5 million.
The Connecticut lawyer representing Leviston, Elizabeth J. Austin, called the bankruptcy filing an attempt to prevent the jury in New York from doing its job and to prevent her client from obtaining another judgment against Jackson.
“The punitive damage claim needs to be quantified,” Austin told the judge. The most efficient way to do that was to allow the trial in New York to continue, she said. For now, there would be no attempt to collect any award in light of the bankruptcy.
Forbes estimated in May that Jackson’s net worth was about $155 million, largely because of the profit he made when Vitaminwater was sold to Coca-Cola in 2007. Jackson was an investor in that company.
Leave a Reply