Damon Dash files for bankruptcy to try to dodge nearly $5 million in civil judgments

Damon Dash has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Florida, aiming to discharge roughly $5 million in civil judgments, his attorney said. The asset-and-debt filing, submitted earlier this month, places his total liabilities at about $25.3 million and indicates he has less than $5,000 in assets to his name.

The move drew swift skepticism from creditors, who say the filing is unlikely to clear most of the civil claims against Dash, including defamation judgments tied to a string of lawsuits. “It’s not going to work,” said attorney Chris Brown, who represents clients owed roughly $5 million by Dash. “He’s trying to pause the train he’s about to be run over by.” Brown noted that many of the debts listed, particularly civil damages from intentional torts, are not dischargeable under bankruptcy law.

Dash’s petition also includes oddities that have drawn scrutiny from creditors and court observers. Brown said the documents show a Florida UPS store listed as his home address and omit several companies Dash owns, while including others that are already in the possession of U.S. Marshals as part of the Webber suit. Brown added that the omission of assets and the misstatement of residence could complicate efforts to liquidate assets if the court does not treat the filing favorably.

Another conspicuous omission, Brown said, is Dash’s life rights, which he has routinely described as a potential movie and TV project about the founding of Roc-A-Fella Records. Brown said that life rights are “the biggest asset he has,” and their absence from the filing appears deliberate. “That’s the asset they’re trying not to disclose,” Brown said.

Dash has a long history of delay-and-evade tactics in civil litigation. In Manhattan federal court earlier this year, a judge nearly sent him to jail for refusing to list assets for auction to satisfy a nearly $900,000 judgment in a separate case brought by filmmaker Josh Webber, a client of Brown’s. In a recent appearance on The Breakfast Club, Dash said he had declared bankruptcy to stymie Brown from pursuing his assets. “Debt Dash, that’s your new name,” host Charlamagne tha God quipped, as Dash lobbed insults during the interview.

“If Defendants fail to comply,” Judge Robert Lehrburger wrote in a ruling related to the Webber case, “the Court will find Defendants in contempt and may issue an arrest warrant for Mr. Dash.” A separate ruling in that matter noted that the enforcement of judgments against Dash is stayed unless the Florida bankruptcy court determines otherwise. Dash’s attorney, Natraj S. Bhushan, told The Post that any attempt to enforce judgments would wait for a Florida judge’s decision.

Last May, Bhushan had asked Lehrburger for permission to dismiss Dash from the Webber case, but the judge denied the request as part of a broader delay strategy. Lehrburger described the tactic as slowing proceedings, and he suggested Dash would likely be uncooperative with a different attorney. In another matter, a Manhattan judge ruled that Dash had destroyed financial evidence deemed highly relevant to current and future litigation in a suit brought by Edwyna Brooks, who claimed Dash fraudulently hid funds to dodge paying her nearly $100,000 in a separate judgment.

Dash has also pursued media ventures tied to his brand, announcing a book deal and television rights for a project titled “Power” shortly before the current bankruptcy filing. During the interview on The Breakfast Club, he alternated between discussing his debts and trading barbs with the host, underscoring the public tensions surrounding his finances.

The Webber case and the broader set of lawsuits against Dash illustrate a broader pattern of creditors pursuing multiple avenues to collect judgments, including civil damages and asset seizures, while he navigates a Chapter 7 process. The Florida petition itself provides a snapshot of the legal and financial crosswinds that have accompanied his career since Roc-A-Fella Records helped launch acts including Jay-Z.

Creditors say the bankruptcy filing will not erase existing civil judgments, and they will seek to have the case considered in Florida to determine what, if any, assets can be liquidated. The proceedings in Florida may also affect ongoing litigation in New York and other jurisdictions, where separate judgments and warrants have been pursued or contemplated.

Dash’s public persona—once tied to a successful record label and a hit song—has shifted amid the litigation and debt disputes. The bankruptcy filing reframes his financial status and could influence future settlements or judgments, depending on how the court weighs dischargeability of the civil claims and any remaining non-dischargable debts. As creditors prepare their next steps, Dash remains a focal point in a sprawling web of lawsuits that span multiple jurisdictions and prominent entertainment-law matters.