Snoop Dogg and Death Row Records are looking to finally put an end to a long-standing legal battle tied to the label’s early days. According to AllHipHop, the West Coast rap icon and the label’s legal team have filed a motion to dismiss a $107 million lawsuit originally filed by Lydia Harris back in 2002. Though the case dates back over two decades, Harris revived it in 2022—just after Snoop acquired the Death Row catalog.
Harris, who claims she invested $1.5 million to help launch Death Row in 1989, was married at the time to co-founder Michael “Harry-O” Harris. She was awarded a $107 million judgment in 2005, but says she never received any of the funds. After years of litigation in Los Angeles, she’s now taken the case to Texas, pursuing what she believes are unpaid profits.
In her amended filing, Harris accuses Snoop Dogg, Suge Knight, Universal Music Group, Interscope Records, and Time Warner of fraud, civil conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and abuse of legal process. Snoop’s legal team argues that her claims are far too old to be actionable, stating that the suit is “undeniably time-barred.”
“Plaintiff’s claims are barred by the applicable statutes of limitations,” the motion reads. It further labels Harris as “a bad faith litigant” who has “continued a pattern of harassment in California for years and has now shifted her harassment to a new forum in Texas.”
As of now, the court has yet to make a ruling on the motion to dismiss.
The revived legal drama casts a shadow over what should be a celebratory moment for Snoop, who recently announced his forthcoming gospel album Altar Call, set for release on Sunday, April 27. The project, which he says is dedicated entirely to his late mother, marks another creative chapter for the Doggfather—one that he likely hoped wouldn’t be marred by legal distractions.