Superstar R&B
crooner Nathaniel "Nate Dogg" Hale is seeking a legal judgment preventing
bankrupt Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight from discharging
an alleged $10 million dollars in back royalties. In
documents released by Court TV’s website TheSmokinggun.com, Nate Dogg, born Nathaniel
Hale, claims that Knight was the owner and president of Death Row Records.The
complaint claims Knight’s other companies, including Suge Music and Suge Publishing
are not "separate legal entities from Suge, the individual, or Death Row
and are not legal entities at all, and Suge and Death Row are the true identity
behind these empty shell identities."Using
these companies, Knight is fraudulently using Death Row Records to acquire and
"exploit valuable intellectual property rights" of Nate Dogg through
making false statements as to the rapper’s contractual status with Death Row.
Additionally,
the complaint claims that Nate Dogg was not listed or named on the schedule filed
by Knight in bankruptcy court and that Nate Dogg had no knowledge of the deadline
set in September of 2006, to file a claim against Knight’.Nate
Dogg claims that his recorded association with Knight began around 1993 (his debut
was on Dr. Dre’s The Chronic) until the present and that Knight has never
accounted to, or paid Nate Dogg the amounts he was entitled for various hit records
he released during his association with Death Row Records. When
Nate Dogg inquired about his royalties, he alleges that Knight responded with
threats of physical violence, claimed that no profits were generated by Death
Row and falsely stated that Nate Dogg would eventually be paid. As
a result Nate Dogg, who has contributed to over 60 chart singles, is seeking no
less than $10 million dollars from Knight personally.In
the complaint, attorney’s for the singer stated that Nate Dogg can’t remember
if he ever signed a contract with Knight, but if he did, Knight would have been
solely responsible to for receiving, collecting and administering royalties. .
The
filing also states that Death Row continuously refuses to provide an accounting
of the amount of records sold that featured Nate Dogg.
