Nicki Minaj narrowly dodged a default judgment in a $10 million federal defamation lawsuit after a judge pressed pause on the case, giving her 45 days to hire new attorneys following the abrupt withdrawal of her legal team.
Nicki Minaj and her company, Pink Personality, won a temporary reprieve after they missed a court deadline in a lawsuit filed by Tameer Peak. The delay followed her previous lawyers’ exit from the case without notice, leaving her unrepresented and vulnerable to a default judgment.
Minaj was served on September 30 and had until October 21 to respond, but no filings were made. On October 24, the court clerk entered a default against Minaj, setting the stage for a possible judgment without trial.
But on November 3, Minaj’s in-house counsel stepped in, asking the court for a 45-day pause, explaining that the previous attorney “abruptly withdrew entirely from his representation of Defendants, without giving any prior notice.”
The attorney also said he only became aware of the lawsuit on October 30, the same day the original lawyer pulled out. Peak challenged the request, claiming Nicki Minaj had sufficient time to respond and accusing her former attorney, Judd Burstein, of sending an email with “adverse consequences” if Peak didn’t drop the case.
However, Judge Broderick said Peak failed to clarify the nature of those threats and ruled that the situation didn’t amount to a willful default. The judge noted Nicki Minaj’s swift action after the default was entered.
He concluded that Minaj had shown “good cause” for the missed deadline, even though she hadn’t yet presented a complete defense to the defamation allegations.
Nicki Minaj now has until December 28 to secure new legal representation and must update the court on her progress by December 13. The rap star is also at risk of losing her $20 million in a separate legal battle she is accused of ignoring.