French Montana finds himself entangled in costly legal trouble following an animal-related incident at his property.
French Montana faced a significant financial bite earlier this week after a judge recently ordered the Hip-Hop star to pay more than $400,000 over a 2019 dog mauling at his Calabasas estate.
The lawsuit stems from an incident in November 2019 when Montana’s Tibetan mastiff attacked landscaper Jason Leyva, leaving him with painful bites to his shoulder and hip.
Leyva’s injuries required hospitalization, multiple stitches and antibiotic treatment.
Despite French Montana claiming he believed a settlement had already been reached, Leyva insists no such agreement ever existed.
Leyva maintains that any funds he received from Montana were solely payments for contracted landscaping work, not related to the dog attack.
The judge’s decision came after Montana failed to produce documentation proving a prior settlement. Leyva went even further, alleging that any settlement paperwork Montana might provide would be fraudulent.
French Montana’s attorney, Dariush Adli, spoke with Rolling Stone about plans to challenge the ruling that said the rapper would have to pay over $402,644.
“We will ask the judge to reconsider,” Adli said. “If he won’t, we’ll recommend to our client that we appeal. If the judge maintains his position, we are confident this will be overturned on appeal.”
Initially, Leyva had pursued a much heftier claim, seeking approximately $2.3 million in damages. He alleged that Montana promised to cover his medical expenses immediately following the attack, a promise Leyva says was never honored.
The court ruled against French Montana by default, stating he demonstrated no viable reason for neglecting to respond to the lawsuit in a timely manner.
The rapper, however, argued that he had no knowledge of the legal action until the default judgment was already in place.
