Nicki Minaj has avoided a $20 million default judgment in a lawsuit filed by a woman who accused Nicki’s husband of rape.
Jennifer Hough asked the court to find Nicki and her husband Kenneth Petty in default after failing to respond to her lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Hough claimed she endured a “relentless campaign of bribery, intimidation, harassment, and stalking” by the couple following her claim that Petty raped her at knifepoint when she was a teenager in 1994.
Kenneth served time in prison for Hough’s rape and is required to register as a sex offender.
Hough is suing Nicki and Kenneth for intentional infliction of emotional distress, harassment, and witness intimidation.
Her attorney asked the judge to find Nicki in default after she missed the deadline to respond to the lawsuit.
A default judgment means Nicki would owe Hough $20 million.
However, the federal clerk for the Eastern District of New York denied Hough’s request, writing on the court docket that “it appears” Minaj stated in papers last week that she had hired a attorney to defend her.
The “Super Bass” star had sworn in a statement on October 15 that she thought she had hired an attorney in September, but the payment of his retainer was delayed after a series of “innocent miscommunications”.
Nicki wrote:
“My failure to respond to the complaint was the product of an innocent mistake, and I ask the court to excuse the delay so that I can defend what I believe to be an entirely frivolous case.”
Nicki’s attorney Judd Burstein added:
“I confirm the truth of those portions of defendant’s declaration concerning my role in her failure to secure my services promptly.”
The clerk wrote that Kenneth had “not filed an answer or otherwise moved with respect to the complaint”.
Meanwhile, Hough’s attorney Tyrone Blackburn told Rolling Stone that he is still planning to pursue a $20 million default motion against Petty who has failed to answer the lawsuit and has not retained an attorney.
