Judge freezes rap mogul's assets in dispute over award

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A judge has frozen the assets of Marion ``Suge'' Knight in a ruling that favors an imprisoned drug dealer, who wants half of a $107 million court award to his wife. <br/><br/>Monterey

Tuesday, September 13th 2005, 10:31 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A judge has frozen the assets of Marion ``Suge'' Knight in a ruling that favors an imprisoned drug dealer, who wants half of a $107 million court award to his wife.

Monterey County Superior Court Judge Adrienne M. Grover issued the ruling on Aug. 29, the day after Knight was shot in the leg at an MTV awards pre-party in Miami Beach, Fla. He has been released from a hospital.

In March, a Los Angeles judge ordered Knight and his companies to pay $107 million to Lydia Harris, who claimed she helped start Death Row Records and was owed money from the recording label.

The judge made the decision after finding that Knight and his lawyers failed to answer questions and provide information in the case, which never reached trial.

Michael Harris, who is serving a 28-year sentence at San Quentin State Prison, argues that he's entitled to half of his wife's award.

Calls to Knight's lawyer, Dermot Givens, and Lydia Harris' lawyer, Richard Brover, weren't immediately returned Monday.

Harris has claimed he put up $1.5 million from behind bars in 1991 to help start the record label _ a contention Knight has repeatedly denied.

In June, Harris filed for divorce after learning his wife was in settlement negotiations with Knight, said his lawyer, Steven M. Goldberg.

``She was trying to settle separately and cut him off the $107 million award,'' Goldberg alleged.

Harris sought a divorce to block the alleged settlement, Goldberg said. The judge's decision to add Knight as a party to the divorce blocks him from ``disposing or transferring his assets away,'' the lawyer said.

Knight, whose label dominated the rap world in the 1990s, has had a series of legal troubles.

In 2003, he was ordered to pay $5.5 million to managers who accused him of stealing one of their acts.

Knight was released from prison in 2001 after serving time for assault and weapons violations. He recently served an additional 10 months for violating his parole by allegedly striking a Hollywood nightclub valet.