A jury’s award of $235,900 in punitive damages to a woman who claimed that Soulja Boy assaulted her and attacked her with a large gun during a party at his Malibu home in 2019 was initially in danger of being canceled by a judge. However, after reconsideration, the judge decided to let the verdict stand.
Judge Mark Epstein of the Santa Monica Superior Court had previously stated that there was a lack of evidence presented by the plaintiff’s attorney regarding Soulja Boy’s financial situation during the April trial. Nevertheless, during a hearing on the singer’s motion to overturn the award, the judge changed his position.
“The court acknowledges that the question is quite close,” the judge wrote. “But ultimately, the court believes that the plaintiff has presented enough evidence, barely…”
In their court documents, the rapper’s attorneys argued that the plaintiff’s lawyer failed to provide any documentary evidence regarding Soulja Boy’s net worth or current financial situation.
However, the plaintiff’s lawyer countered in his court papers that the punitive damages verdict should not be overturned, highlighting the important evidence presented by the singer himself during the trial’s punitive damages phase.
“The defendant, in his testimony, claimed to be a successful rapper due to the sale of several million records,” the plaintiff’s lawyer stated in his court documents. “He admitted to earning millions of dollars from the sales of his rap single ‘Crank That’, as well as continuing to make money from music sales, social media marketing, and YouTube views. His YouTube channel has over 3 million subscribers and has been viewed over 1 billion times.”
The 32-year-old rapper also disclosed to the jury that he works as a record producer and earns additional income from marketing a cologne, a hand-held gaming device, a sneaker, a soda product, and certain cannabis products, according to the plaintiff’s attorney.
The same jury that awarded punitive damages also ordered Soulja Boy to pay an identical amount of $235,900 in compensatory damages to the plaintiff. The majority of this amount is intended to compensate her for pain and suffering. Due to the jury’s finding of malice, oppression, or fraud, a second phase of the trial was conducted to determine whether punitive damages should be awarded.
The plaintiff, Kayla Christine Myers, alleged that Soulja Boy, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, threatened her life by holding a gun to her head on the night of February 1, 2019. She further claimed that the rapper instructed his assistant to take her into the garage, tie her up with duct tape, and later dragged her into the house by her hair, forcing her to take two showers.
According to Myers, she was left in the garage for four hours under the supervision of the assistant and another man before finally being allowed to leave. She was subsequently hospitalized with three fractured ribs and a facial contusion. Soulja Boy has denied assaulting Myers or engaging in any wrongdoing, instead claiming that she was the aggressor in the altercation with his assistant.
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