Friday, May 23, 2014

Dr. Dre Loses $3 Million Claim in the Suge Knight Bankruptcy Case

Andre Young (a/k/a "Dr. Dre") was in the news last week when Apple announced that it was buying his Beats headphone company for more than $3 billion. Media reports estimate that Dr. Dre will net nearly $800 million from the deal. So, I guess he wasn't too upset when U.S Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California denied his motion for a $3 million administrative expense claim in the Death Row Records/Suge Knight bankruptcy case.

By way of background, Death Row Records ("DRR") and Suge Knight filed separate bankruptcy cases in 2006, which were subsequently consolidated. The consolidated bankruptcy case is still pending. DRR has continued to sell music the whole time, including music on which Dr. Dre claims that he is due royalties. In fact, Dr. Dre claimed that he was due nearly $3 million for post-petition royalties.  

He filed a motion for allowance of an administrative expense claim. The court had several problems with Dr. Dre's motion. First, the court took issue with the affidavits used to support the claim for $3 million. To make a long story short, the court found that Dr. Dre could not prove his damages because the affidavits were full of hearsay and speculation. The court also noted that Dr. Dre has previously made claims for royalties in this same case, which were denied, so, for reasons of claim preclusion and issue preclusion, the motion for allowance of an administrative expense claim was denied.  

HERE is a copy of the order if anyone is interested.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Rolewick & Gutzke, P.C. is Hiring

ROLEWICK & GUTZKE, P.C. is interviewing to hire a new associate attorney. They are looking for an attorney who has been admitted to the Illinois Bar at least 4 years and who has an interest in working in a general civil practice firm. They need a litigation attorney with trial experience in the areas of estate, probate, contract and shareholder disputes as well as plaintiff’s personal injury and malpractice.  
ROLEWICK & GUTZKE is a general practice firm presently consisting of six (6) full time attorneys. Although they handle some Cook, Will, and Kane County cases, as well as appear in Federal Court, their work is primarily concentrated in DuPage County. They represent clients in general corporate and commercial matters, business acquisitions and mergers, corporate litigation, personal injury and wrongful death, residential and commercial real estate transactions, estate planning, tax planning, and probate estates.
They ask that anyone who is interested in the position please mail or e-mail a resume, a transcript of their law school grades, a writing sample, job references, and salary requirements to the attention of Bruce Robinson as soon as possible.