A lawsuit relating to the death of Notorious BIG has been dismissed after a five year legal battle.
The mid 90s now stands as hip hop’s commercial high water mark. Driven by fierce competition between coasts, rappers such as Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG became enormous stars with a series of seminal releases.
However the pair’s lives were to end in tragedy. Tupac Shakur was shot dead, with Notorious BIG perishing soon afterwards. Conspiracy theorists have had a field day with the case, with the life of Biggie Smalls being transformed into a film last year.
Dying in 1997, the family of Notorious BIG have always refused to believe that his death was a simple random shooting. Filing a case of unlawful death, the rapper’s mother Voletta Wallace blamed the city and LAPD for her son’s death.
Five years of legal wrangling followed, with judge Jacqueline Nguyen dismissing the case without prejudice. The verdict ends the case, which is based upon claims from former office Russell Poole.
Poole has argued that LAPD officers Rafael Perez and David Mack had conspired alongside Death Row Records boss Marion “Suge” Knight to murder the rapper.
All three have been cleared of criminal charges. Notorious BIG’s murder remains unsolved, with his family deciding to battle on.
In 2006, a civil action brought a $1.1 million judgement against the city of Los Angeles. However this was later revoked after district judge Florence-Marie Cooper discovered the family had information they told the court they did not have access to.
