A judge denied New York City’s request to stay the auction of Dame Dash’s stake in Roc-A-Fella Records on Monday (September 30). According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, Judge Robert Lehrburger refused to hold up the auction over a dispute regarding JAY-Z’s ability to terminate the label’s Reasonable Doubt copyright. Billboard was the first to report on the ruling.
“Intervenor NYCDSS’s motion to stay the auction for purposes of having this court determine the validity of the copyright termination notice filed by Shawn Carter a/k/a Jay-Z in connection with the work Reasonable Doubt, an asset owned by [Roc-A-Fella], is denied,” the judge wrote. “The asset that is the subject of the auction is Dash’s one-third interest in RAF itself, not the work owned by RAF. The court does not presently have jurisdiction over the validity of Carter’s copyright termination notice.”
New York City said JAY-Z “poised the environment for the auction” by claiming the rights to Reasonable Doubt revert to him in six years. The album’s sound recording copyright is Roc-A-Fella’s only major asset, making a critical factor in bids for Dash’s stake. New York City insisted Roc-A-Fella would maintain the Reasonable Doubt copyright until 2098.
Judge Lehrburger also denied New York City’s motion to compel discovery of Roc-A-Fella ahead of the auction.
“The only subpoena directed to RAF of which the Court is aware is the one served by NYCDSS in state administrative proceedings,” he ruled. “No discovery subpoena has been served by intervenors in the instant action, nor should there be. The Court allowed NYCDSS to intervene for purposes of asserting its claim to funds generated from the auction of Dash’s interest in RAF to satisfy child support arrears owed by Dash, not to conduct discovery of Dash’s assets that NYCDSS can pursue and is pursuing through administrative or other actions.”
Dash has been forced to sell his Roc-A-Fella stake to pay off lawsuit-related debts, unpaid taxes and child support. The minimum bid is $3 million. The auction is tentatively scheduled for October 21.