LOS ANGELES, April 14 -- Three weeks after the death of Eric Wright, the rapper known as Eazy-E, an intense legal battle is heating up between his family and a business associate over the ownership of Ruthless Records. A Los Angeles judge is expected to send Ruthless, founded by Wright, into conservatorship until the dispute can be resolved. In the meantime business has ground to a halt at the rap and R&B-oriented company, whose roster includes the hit rap group Bones Thugs 'N Harmony. Wright's widow, Tomica Woods, and his parents claim they own Ruthless, but Mike Klein, the label's former business manager, contends he owns 50 percent of the record company and has filed a $5 million lawsuit against Woods and her attorney. At a hearing Friday the two sides asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brien to rule on who should have temporary control of the record label, valued by industry analysts at about $10 million, until the lawsuit is resolved. O'Brien indicated he would defer the case to the probate division of Superior Court, where an independent conservator would be appointed to manage the daily operations of the company. The judge made no effort to hide his frustration with the bitter allegations levied by both sides. 'This growing business is going to be destroyed by this dispute,' O'Brien said. 'You're going to tear it down through intransigence and overzealousness.' O'Brien was expected to issue his ruling early next week. According to court documents, the battle over Ruthless began in the weeks before Wright died of AIDS on March 26.
Klein contends Woods and her attorney, Ron Sweeney, unlawfully took control of the label after Wright was hospitalized with an AIDS-related illness in late February. Sweeney had been retained by Wright a month earlier to represent the rap star in dealings with his former personal manager. After learning that Sweeney was claiming to represent Ruthless in business matters, Klein said he fired Sweeney. Sweeney and Woods, in turn, fired Klein and later won a temporary restraining order against him after Klein allegedly threatened Woods and other Ruthless employees. In the hours after Wright's death, Sweeney had the locks changed on Ruthless Records' Los Angeles offices. After Klein called police, the owner of the building decided to lock both sides out until the dispute was sorted out by a judge. Klein contends Wright made him a full partner in Ruthless after he helped the rapper revive the business in 1991. Jamie Broder, attorney for Woods and Sweeney, said Klein has offered no proof to back up his claim. Klein's suit claims Woods and Sweeney forced Wright to marry Woods and sign a bogus will last month when the 31-year-old rap star was mentally incapacitated and near death.
