Snoop Dogg’s company is seeking nearly $5,300 in sanctions against members of the late Drakeo the Ruler’s rap collective in a discovery dispute arising from litigation over the singer, who was stabbed to death in the backstage area during a star-studded 2021 concert at what was then called Banc of California Stadium in Exposition Park.
The plaintiffs are Felton Binns, Devante Caldwell, Alrick Cooper III, Kevin Gomez, Terrence Hackett, Jorky Peralta, Jerome Watkins and Calvin Webb. They are part of a consolidated lawsuit filed against Snoop Dogg LLC and other entities and individuals stemming from Drakeo’s death.
According to court papers filed Friday with Judge James I. Montgomery in advance of a Sept. 8 hearing, the rap collective associates have ignored Snoop Dogg LLC’s request for admissions and therefore the items should be deemed admitted and the plaintiffs should pay $5.285 in sanctions.
A request for admissions is a legal tool used in which one party sends written statements to the opposing side, requiring them to admit or deny the truth of specific facts or the authenticity of a document.
Attorneys for Snoop Dogg LLC previously filed court papers asking that the company be dismissed as a defendant on grounds there are no triable issues and a hearing on that motion also is scheduled in September.
“Nobody from SDLLC was present at the backstage area at the time of the subject incident,” Snoop Dogg says in a sworn declaration while adding that his company had no authority to manage the backstage area.
The 54-year-old “Gin and Juice” rapper, whose real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus, was paid $500,000 for a one-hour performance at the festival, according to the SDLLC attorneys’ court papers.
The 28-year-old Drakeo’s real name was Darrell Caldwell. He was attacked after a fight broke out behind the main stage of the Once Upon A Time in LA music festival on Dec. 18, 2021, and died later at a hospital.
The lawsuit’s other plaintiffs are Darrylene Corniel, Drakeo’s mother and the personal representative of his estate, and the hip-hop artist’s only son, a minor. The original complaint was filed in February 2022 and alleges the defendants failed to provide adequate security at the festival.
In a separate action, attorneys for another defendant, Enumer8, have filed an application with the judge for approval of a $20,000 settlement with Corniel while also stating that Corniel would have had “serious obstacles to proving liability.”
Banc of California Stadium is now called BMO Stadium.
Drakeo was a Los Angeles native who released 10 mixtapes since 2015 and put out his first studio album titled “I Am Mr. Mosely” in April 2017. Critics have cited his unique flow and “oddly expressive, poetic word choices.” The Los Angeles Times called him “the most original West Coast stylist in decades.”
Drakeo recorded the mixtape “Thank You For Using GTL” at Men’s Central Jail while awaiting trial in the 2016 killing of a 24-year-old man, according to The Times, which said he was acquitted of murder and attempted murder charges. Drakeo later pleaded to conspiracy charges in connection with the killing and was released in November 2020.