The mother and the estate of the late rapper Takeoff are asking a judge to dismiss a plaintiff’s lawsuit claiming he raped her in 2020, two years before his death, because it is taking too long to bring the case to trial. The plaintiff is identified only as Jane Doe in the Van Nuys Superior Court complaint alleging Takeoff, whose real name was Kirshnik Khari Ball, sexually assaulted her during a party in an Encino home on June 23, 2020. The 28-year-old Takeoff, part of the Atlanta song trio Migos, was shot to death Nov. 1, 2022, at a Houston bowling alley.
On Friday, attorneys for Takeoff’s mother, Titiana Patrice Davenport, and the singer’s estate filed court papers with Judge Huey P. Cotton stating that the five-year time limit in which to bring the case to trial had passed. The case was filed in August 2020.
“Except for a brief 57-day period between the death of the defendant and appointment of the administrator for his estate, the plaintiff had the full power and ability to prosecute this case and take all necessary steps to move the case forward to trial,” the estate attorneys contend in their court papers. “She has failed to do so.”
Instead, Doe `”inexplicably chose to sit on her hands and do seemingly nothing for long durations of time (and) … displayed an utter lack of urgency in prosecuting this case (so) this court must dismiss the action based on the five-year rule,” according to the estate lawyers’ court papers.
The case is not close to going to trial because discovery is still ongoing and no trial date is set, the estate attorneys further say in their court papers. In a previous legal action, a Georgia probate judge designated the singer’s mother as the administrator of her son’s estate. Doe also has filed a $6 million creditor’s claim against Takeoff’s estate.
According to Doe’s lawsuit, Takeoff made several advances the night of the alleged sexual assault that Doe rejected. She later went to a bedroom to lie down, but despite her making it clear to the performer that she was not interested, he followed her into the bedroom and “forced himself on her and engaged in sexual intercourse,” the suit alleges. A hearing on the estate’s dismissal motion is scheduled Jan. 16.