Kanye West continues to evade potential legal consequences, at least according to recent court docs obtained by AllHipHop. Surface Media LLC has been attempting to serve Kanye West since October 2022 over a space he was renting in Miami. The company claims he simply stopped paying rent and is seeking more than $145,000 in back rent. But par for the course, West has proven hard to track down.
“The Defendant is a high-profile celebrity that is difficult to locate and is frequently
traveling,” the docs explain. “Upon information and belief, the Defendant recently returned from traveling outside of the country to Ghana. Additionally, upon information and belief, the Defendant recently divorced and his residence is unknown and/or transient. The Plaintiff attempted service at a suspected residence of and property owned by the Defendant. However, the property appeared to be vacant
and there were no signs the Defendant was actually residing at the location.”
NEW: Kanye West STILL hasn't hired new lawyers since his old ones dumped him a couple of months ago, and he's ghosted his old ones.
— Jacob Shamsian ⚖️ (@JayShams) January 11, 2023
The lawsuits against him, however, are moving forward whether he shows up to court or not.https://t.co/xeiFioBx1M
Consequently, Surface Media is asking the Southern District of Florida court for an Extension of Time for Service of the Complaint. The docs continue: “[Surface Media] is respectfully requesting additional time to serve the Defendant. The Plaintiff is seeking an extension of sixty (60) days because the Plaintiff anticipates continued difficulty with service on the Defendant due to his unpredictable and inconsistent behavior and location.”
Surface Media, the owners of Surface Media where West was renting, hired attorney Jonathan Smulevich to handle the case. As Smulevich said upon filing, “My client pulled off what was essentially an overnight transformation of its art studio into a recording studio for Ye and accompanying artists. In doing so, no request was too big or too small—Ye asked, and they delivered—and my client incurred significant costs and expenses to deliver.
“My client is simply asking for the payment they were promised by Ye for their hard work in customizing and renting this unique space to Ye. Hopefully, this matter can be resolved quickly without prolonged litigation. However, my client has made it clear that it will not bear the financial burden that belongs to Ye.”
Kanye West’s former business manager, Thomas St. John, had similar troubles locating him once he sued him for breach of contract. Ye later surfaced at a church. More recently, Greenberg Traurig Law Firm asked a judge permission to run ads in two Los Angeles newspapers to rid themselves of Ye as a client. Greenberg Traurig was representing Kanye West in his legal battle against Ultra International Music Publishing. But in December 2022, the New York City-based firm asked for an extension to serve West after dropping him as a client. The attorneys needed to serve Ye before moving on from a copyright infringement lawsuit against him.