In July, Digital Music News was first to report that Tekashi 6ix9ine had been named in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over a canceled 2018 concert. Now, because the rapper and his team allegedly failed to respond to the suit, a judge has ordered the plaintiffs to post the summons on Daniel Hernandez’s social media accounts.
A pair of Washington, D.C., live music promoters allege in the $5.3 million complaint that Tekashi 6ix9ine had agreed to play a show scheduled for October 28th, 2018. The gig was to coincide with the homecoming weekend of Howard University, and eager fans lined up outside the venue “as early as noon,” per the initial filing.
But as the performance’s eight o’clock start time approached, the organizers were unable to contact or ascertain the precise whereabouts of an MIA Tekashi 6ix9ine, whose team allegedly ignored some of the frantic phone calls and said in others that they were unsure of their client’s location. (The 24-year-old played in Newark, New Jersey, that evening, at an entirely separate function.)
Fearing that the irate, 3,108-person audience “was about to riot,” the plaintiffs ultimately pulled the plug on the gig. Refunds for pre-sale tickets and VIP tables alone came in at over $200,000, according to the complaint.
A federal judge has granted the plaintiffs’ motion for default judgement against defendants MTA Booking (which, incidentally, had a falling out with Hernandez years back), 1st Call Entertainment (as well as its president), Christian Ehigiator (6ix9ine’s former manager), and Super’s Wherehouse (a New York City company associated with Ehigiator).
As of December 14th, these defendants hadn’t formally acknowledged the suit – despite having been served as far back as late September. Consequently, Judge Royce Lamberth has entered default judgments and called for an ex-parte proof hearing so that the plaintiffs can “present evidence establishing the measure of their damages.” As part of the latter, the defendants must submit “all of their business records and tax returns” for 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Notably, a default judgment wasn’t issued against Tekashi 6ix9ine himself, who evidently hasn’t yet responded to the lawsuit. Separately, Judge Lamberth just days ago granted the plaintiffs’ motion for leave to effect alternate service of process, which will see the plaintiffs post the summons on “no fewer than two” of the “Gooba” artist’s social media accounts.
Given the rapper’s considerable presence on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, he’ll presumably see and respond to the notice, as well as the summary (including a “brief statement,” the sought relief, and the potential default-judgment amount) that should accompany the summons, according to Judge Lamberth’s order. The first post will arrive within 30 days of the order’s docketing, and the plaintiffs are required to publish the message “at least once a week for four consecutive weeks.”
At the time of this piece’s writing, Tekashi 6ix9ine hadn’t publicly responded to the development. Fashion Nova has levied a $2.2 million complaint against the Brooklyn native for allegedly failing to honor the terms of a social media promotional contract, while an unnamed woman (who was hit by a stray bullet at a 2018 “revenge shooting” allegedly arranged by Hernandez) is seeking $150 million worth of damages in a different case.