Damon Dash Loses $805K Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
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Damon Dash has been ordered to pay over $800K after coming up on the losing end of a lawsuit filed against him by a film director claiming that Dash attempted to pass off his movie as his own. On Wednesday (March 30), a judge awarded Josh Webber and Muddy Water Pictures $805,000 after a jury sided with Webber in the copyright infringement and defamation lawsuit filed against Dash, which stems from the 2019 film Dear Frank.
According to the suit, which was filed in 2019, Dash was hired to help co-direct Dear Frank in 2016 but was fired two years later for constantly being inebriated on set. After Dash’s ousting, Webber claims the mogul pitched Dear Frank to various networks including BET, under the guise of the film being titled The List to avoid suspicion.
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In all, Muddy Water Pictures was awarded $30,000 for copyright infringement and $125,000 in punitive damages. Webber was also awarded $400,000 in compensatory damages for defamation and $250,000 in punitive damages. Following the verdict, Dash took to social media to react, conceding defeat, albeit while continuing to claim creative ownership of Dear Frank. “You have to lose some battles to win a war… stay tuned #fatliars #youllneverbeme. Don’t ever say you Directed MY movie,” he wrote in a post on Instagram. In response, Webber issued a post of his own, simply writing, “Case closed” while tagging Dash’s Instagram account, with the hashtag #dearfrankmovie.”
Released in 2019, Dear Frank stars Brian White, Claudia Jordan, Columbus Short, Nicholas Turturro, Torrei Hart, and Kearia Schroeder, and includes a cameo from rapper Lil Durk.
See Damon Dash and Josh Webber’s social media posts below.
