Alongside NBCUniversal, a California judge ruled in favor of former N.W.A members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre on the grounds of a wrongful death lawsuit. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a man named Terry Carter was killed by a hit-and-run on the set of Straight Outta Compton. Carter was struck by Suge Knight’s vehicle after a verbal disagreement.
Knight is currently in prison awaiting the verdict of his murder trial. Carter’s family brought the wrongful death lawsuit against Cube, Dre, and Universal for negligence and to hold the three parties “liable” for Carter’s death. Within the suit, his family claimed the music/film executives were more than familiar with Knight’s controversial past and how things clamourously ended between the Death Row Records CEO, Cube, and Dre.
The incident was catalyzed by a previous encounter between Knight and Cle “Bone” Sloan. The latter worked as a “technical advisor to assist in security” on the set of Straight Outta Compton when he and Knight engaged in a verbal spat. Sloan told Knight to leave set which he did, but Carter planned to let the two reconcile at a later date. Outside of Tam’s Burgers in California, Knight arrived but things took a turn for the worse that led him to accelerate his vehicle in presumed anger. Carter was in his pickup truck’s path and was fatally struck.
On the topic of the lawsuit, the appeal courts deemed: “The earlier interaction between Sloan and Knight at base camp was, by plaintiffs’ own admission, non- violent, and plaintiffs make no allegation that Knight or Sloan made any threats of future harm or violence during their base camp exchange of words — nor that defendants ever directed Sloan to confront Knight in a violent manner.”
In addition to facing a murder charge, Knight was also tacked with attempted murder for targeting Sloan, who was injured in the incident, CNN reports.
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