Kanye West's former lawyers still can't get in touch with him, they said in
court filings.
The rapper, who goes by Ye, changed the phone
number he used to communicate with his lawyers. In order to reach him, the
lawyers are asking a judge if they can publish classified advertisements in
Los Angeles-based newspapers.
Ye is being sued by a recording label that claims he stole a song
sample on his latest album. He's now at risk of losing the case through
default judgment.
Ye's former lawyers at Greenberg Traurig
explained their predicament in a court filing Friday.
"GT also
tried to contact Ye directly via the last known cell phone number GT had to
arrange for personal service," the lawyers at Greenberg Traurig wrote in the
filing. "This was also unsuccessful, as Ye has apparently deactivated the
phone number previously used to contact him."
The attorneys abandoned Ye following a series of antisemitic
tirades he made last year. On November 2, they asked judges in multiple
cases where they represented him if they could withdraw. A representative
for the firm previously told Insider in a statement that it condemns
"antisemitism and all hate speech or bigotry, which is repugnant to the core
values we believe in and live."
The timing was bad for Ye. Just
days earlier, US District Judge Analisa Torres, who is presiding over the
case in a federal court in Manhattan, had ordered both sides to prepare for
a trial after they failed to reach a settlement. The company Ultra
International Music Publishing alleges Ye stole elements from the 1986
Marshall Jefferson song "Move Your Body" — also known as "The House Music
Anthem" — for his song "Flowers," which is reportedly about his ex-wife Kim
Kardashian.
Torres ultimately permitted the attorneys at Greenberg Traurig
to exit the case. But she required them to serve Ye with her order telling
him he needs to either get new lawyers or represent himself in the
case.
For weeks, the lawyers at Greenberg Traurig have struggled
to contact Ye. He stopped answering his phone and no longer appears to
reside at addresses previously associated with him, they said in court
filings. They asked Torres if they could serve him with her order through a
text message, but she said no.
In Friday's filing, the lawyers
say that Ye changed his phone number. They asked for a third extension to
use what's called service by publication, which involves publishing the
judge's order in two Los Angeles newspapers and hoping Ye sees
it.
The lawyers at Greenberg Traurig aren't the only ones having
trouble getting in touch with Ye. In a separate case in a California state
court in Los Angeles, lawyers for his former business management firm,
Thomas St. John, have said they've spent weeks trying to track him down for
a lawsuit over unpaid bills.
In the Friday filing, the lawyers at
Greenberg Traurig said they have spoken to the lawyers for Thomas St. John
about their shared predicament.
"GT has contacted counsel for the
plaintiff in Thomas St. John, who has confirmed that they have yet to
accomplish service," they wrote.
