Mi2N — There has been a change in the weather in the ongoing Death Row Records owner dispute between the company’s former CEO/President Lara Lavi and Canadian banker, Ron Ovenden who is the Chairman of New Solutions Capital, the private lending company that loaned part of the money to purchase the Death Row Records and Suge Knight Publishing Assets in a California Bankruptcy Proceeding in Jan. 2009.
On Aug. 31, 2010 by electronic filing Laura Lavi filed a lawsuit against Wideawake Deathrow Entertainment LLC (“Deathrow”) to “compel inspection of books and records to investigate potential self-dealing and breaches of fiduciary duty by Ronald Ovenden (http://www.newsolcapital.com/), a member and manager of the Death Row LLC.” Today, the registered agent for Deathrow was served with the complaint.
This lawsuit comes after a succession of favourable court results for Ms. Lavi, starting with the Canadian Court’s ruling on Feb. 17, 2010 where. Ovenden did not win confirmation that he has control of the Delaware LLC and instead Justice Campbell sent the case to trial at the end of this year to determine if Ovenden rightfully removed Lavi. Then in June, 2010, Ovenden lost his sanctions motion against Lavi when Judge Barbara Kapnick ruled that Ms. Lavi did not lie to the New York court.
At stake is control of urban music catalogues, Death Row Records and Suge Knight Publishing, which includes the music of Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tupac Shakur.
Death Row is distributed by E-1 Entertainment in North America and the lawsuit references E-1 as another possible source of the company’s books and records. Explains Ms. Lavi’s Delaware Counsel David L. Finger of Finger & Slanina, “The Delaware lawsuit is the first step towards getting to the truth about what Mr. Ovenden and his company New Solutions Capital did with the $m in advances Ms. Lavi raised to capitalize the Death Row LLC. Only the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware has jurisdiction over a complaint to compel inspection of a Delaware LLC’s books and records. Ms. Lavi has every right to these documents as she is an owner and a managing member.”
Death Row’s President John Payne and New Solutions’ Managing Director, Robert Thompson-So continue to run the day to day operations for Death Row but neither could be reached for this story. Ms. Lavi was not available for comment either.
