A$AP Relli has a new team of civil lawyers and is pressing ahead with his assault and battery lawsuit against A$AP Rocky. A bench trial in the case remains set for Jan. 12, a Los Angeles judge said Tuesday, calling the date “firm.”
Relli’s new lawyers appeared by video at the Tuesday morning hearing after Relli struggled to represent himself at a different hearing in a related case last month. The new lawyers said they’ve been “working diligently” to get Relli’s civil assault case back up to speed after his prior civil team stepped aside in the wake of Rocky’s acquittal of felony assault charges last February. In the criminal case, a jury found Rocky not guilty of shooting Relli with a semiautomatic gun during a dispute on a Los Angeles street corner in November 2021. The new lawyers said Tuesday that Relli, born Terell Ephron, was open to trying private mediation with a retired judge to possibly settle his civil claims ahead of the looming trial.
Rocky’s lawyer, meanwhile, said that the “Sundress” rapper, born Rakim Mayers, was open to discussions as well. But the lawyer, Wogai Mohmand, said her side wanted something more formal, namely a court-ordered mandatory settlement conference (MSC) with a sitting judge.
“We haven’t received any type of settlement offer from the plaintiff, so we thought an MSC would be more helpful, to help the parties resolve the case,” Mohmand said, appearing in person for the hearing in downtown Los Angeles. Mayers has vehemently denied assaulting Ephron that night. Still, many defendants who adamantly deny liability agree to mediation. It’s often viewed as a way to explore creative settlement options, get a preview of the other side’s case, or simply avoid a public trial.
In his verbal ruling from the bench, Judge William F. Fahey ordered the parties to try private discussions first. He gave them six weeks to find a retired judge and meet for mediation. He ordered them to report back to him by Dec. 10.
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“Either you’re going to enjoy some success, or I’ll consider setting an MSC at that time,” Judge Fahey said. “We have a firm trial date about two months away. …We’re going to try to settle this case.”
The judge ordered State Farm Insurance to join the mediation process as well, refusing to let the company take a backseat. State Farm previously filed a related lawsuit asking the court to confirm its position that it doesn’t owe Mayers any liability coverage related to the civil case based on his homeowner’s policy. The lawyer for State Farm agreed Tuesday to join the talks, saying Ephron “kind of fell off the map” when his prior legal team quit, but now with the new lawyers, the parties could attempt to “mediate globally.”
In another sign that the court is holding fast to the January trial date, Judge Fahey also granted Mayers’ motion to compel Ephron to answer his discovery requests. The judge said Ephron must pay $4,500 in sanctions for his prior failure to adequately respond. The judge gave Ephron two weeks to comply.
In addition to the assault case, Ephron’s new legal team, led by Aaron Morris and Andrew Robertson, also signed on to represent Ephron in his related defamation lawsuit filed against Mayers and the musician’s criminal defense lawyer, Joe Tacopina. In that case, Ephron alleges Tacopina defamed him when he stated in media interviews that Ephron’s shooting allegations were part of an extortion plan.
Last month, a different Los Angeles judge warned Ephron that he was taking a big risk representing himself in the defamation case while still hunting for new lawyers. The judge said that if Mayers and Tacopina were successful with their pending motion to dismiss the defamation case on free speech grounds, Ephron would be on the hook for their substantial legal fees.
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“I would urge you to contact the other side and see if a deal can be made,” Los Angeles County Judge Randolph M. Hammock said, hinting he was on the verge of deciding the matter in the other side’s favor. “Maybe in exchange for dismissing the lawsuit, they’ll drop their claim for fees. … Maybe it’s time to cut your losses.”
In his assault lawsuit – filed shortly before prosecutors brought related criminal charges – Ephron alleged that Mayers requested to meet him the night of the alleged incident, initiated a verbal altercation, pulled out a semiautomatic firearm, and fired multiple shots. He claimed that a single projectile grazed the knuckles of his left hand and that the incident caused him to fear for his life, leaving him with “physical, mental, and emotional injuries.”
During the three-week criminal trial that ended Feb. 18, an eyewitness testified that Mayers only had a prop gun firing blanks the night of his confrontation with Ephron. Jurors also heard a recording in which Ephron told an associate in 2022 that he was willing to “walk away” and hide from prosecutors on an island if Mayers paid him. The panel also heard that Ephron demanded $30 million.
Mayers, 37, did not testify in his own defense, but two other members of the men’s A$AP Mob hip-hop collective took the stand and told jurors that the prop gun came from the set of the “D.M.B.” music video that Mayers shot with Rihanna in July 2021. The friends said the prop gun only fired blanks.
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When the criminal court jury returned its verdict, handing Mayers a resounding victory, the rapper and actor dove over a waist-high courtroom barrier to embrace Rihanna, who was seated in the front row. He then hugged Tacopina and addressed the jurors as they left the courtroom. “Thank you all for saving my life. Thank you. Thank you for making the right decision,” he said.
If the parties fail to settle the civil assault case, the Jan. 12 trial is set to proceed without a jury, meaning the judge will hear evidence and decide the outcome. The next hearing in Ephron’s defamation case against Mayers and Tacopina is set for Oct. 23.
