Nicki Minaj and Kenneth Petty’s harassment case, which centers on a lawsuit brought against the couple by Petty’s accuser Jennifer Hough, is now focused on a back-and-forth regarding a requested $20 million default judgment.
An attorney acting on Nicki Minaj’s behalf, as reported by The Daily Beast on Thursday, has asked for the petition to be withdrawn and for an extension to be granted allowing for additional time to more formally respond. Hough’s attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, told the publication that he recently got an email from attorney Judd Burstein but declined the requests in question.
“I told him to prepare his opposition to my request for default judgment and explain to the court why his client and her husband believe they’re both above the law,” Blackburn said.
In court documents dated Oct. 11 and viewed by Complex, Blackburn affirmed that the time for the defendants (i.e. Minaj and Petty) to answer or otherwise make a move regarding the complaint had expired. He also stated that Minaj and Petty had not answered the complaint, nor were they “infants or incompetent” or some other classification that would complicate the process.
Blackburn also said in the filing that Minaj and Petty, as well as various associates, had targeted Hough and her family with a campaign of “bribery, intimidation, harassment, and stalking” in an alleged effort to force her to recant her claims of sexual assault against Petty. Notably, Hough accused Petty of raping her in 1994, a crime for which he was convicted the following year.
The recent request for an award of damages of $20 million in the harassment and intimidation lawsuit mark a way of proposed compensation for Hough due to “the hell that was visited upon her by the defendants.” Among other things, the filing argued, Hough has been “robbed” of the ability to lead a normal life, instead being subjected to what Blackburn described as “immense mental and physical anguish.”
Complex has reached out to a rep for Minaj, as well as the respective offices of Tyrone Blackburn and Judd Burstein, for comment. For a full breakdown on the harassment claims against Minaj and Petty, click here.
