Kanye West blew off a key hearing in one of his Donda Academy lawsuits Wednesday, leading to the first defaults against the rapper’s companies in the wave of litigation over his failed private Christian school.
Superior Court Judge Christopher K. Lui entered the defaults for Yeezy Christian Academy, Donda Services LLC, and Stokes Canyon LLC at a hearing in Downtown Los Angeles tied to the headline-grabbing breach of contract lawsuit filed last year by former school staffer Isaiah Meadows.
In his complaint, Meadows said he was hired to help run Yeezy Christian Academy in 2020 and continued with the school when it transitioned to Donda Academy in August 2021. Meadows said his compensation was slashed, his promised rent stipend was revoked, and he was eventually terminated in August 2022 after he complained about deplorable conditions such as an overflowing septic tank, exposed electrical wiring, and a skylight and windows left with no glass because West purportedly “did not like glass.”
Meadows filed his lawsuit shortly after two teachers stepped forward with claims they were fired when they complained about allegedly poor security, lax safety, and non-existent educational standards at Donda Academy. They said the only available lunch for students was sushi, every single day, and that West “did not allow chairs,” only foam cushions or stools. A third teacher eventually joined that lawsuit, and three additional lawsuits were filed by even more staffers after the teachers and Meadows.
West initially had a lawyer named Brian Brumfield battling four of the lawsuits on his behalf, but Brumfield asked to be relieved as counsel over the summer. In court filings, Brumfield said West “terminated” their relationship on June 21, 2024. “Defendant also will not speak to counsel and defendant refuses to pay counsel as well,” he wrote to the court.
On Wednesday, Judge Lui made it clear he was running out of patience. He found the three companies in default and made no mention of postponing the trial in the case currently set for April. West, who now goes by Ye, remains a defendant because as an individual — not a corporation — he has a right to wait until trial and then represent himself.
“I think the case needs to move on,” Judge Lui said after noting West and his companies failed to appear through a retained lawyer at a similar hearing last month. “There’s basically no representation for these three entities.” The judge said the answers to the lawsuit previously filed by Brumfield on behalf of the three companies would be stricken.
“We’re satisfied with the decision. This particular judge is not one to wait for things to happen. He makes sure things happen, and happen correctly. He wants case to move along without any weird loose ends,” Meadows’ lawyer Ron Zambrano tells Rolling Stone. “We’re looking forward to collecting a judgment.”
Zambrano said he will soon submit a proposed judgment for the court to consider. If the remaining case goes to trial in April, West will have to chance to appear alongside another corporate defendant, Donda Academy Inc. A lawyer appeared on behalf of Donda Academy Wednesday because when the school transitioned from Yeezy Christian Academy, it picked up a new insurance policy.
West, 47, was slapped with his fifth Donda Academy-related lawsuit last month when a former Yeezy staffer, Murphy Aficionado, sued West with claims the artist fired him after he pushed back on a plan to move the controversial K-12 private Christian school to a “decrepit property” without proper permits. Aficionado also alleges West subjected him to antisemitic tirades and forced him to sit in a hotel suite while West engaged in loud sex in an adjoining room.
West also is facing legal action from former Yeezy staffers. The complaints started piling up after West posted antisemitic rants on his social media accounts in October 2022, sparking widespread criticism and the end of his lucrative partnerships with Gap and Adidas.
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