16.6 Million Dollars: Default Judgment Against Tupac's Estate

Jacquelyn McNealey had been struck by a stray bullet in 1993 at a Tupac concert in a nightclub in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Since then, the woman, now 27 years old, was paralyzed from the chest down. On November 18, 1996, Judge H. A. Taylor in Arkansas awarded her 16.6 million dollars from Tupac’s estate, the full amount requested, because no one had appeared for the estate at the hearing.

The Estate Administrator Knew Nothing

Her attorney David Mitchell based the lawsuit on the claim that Tupac had provoked the crowd and created a heated atmosphere. The nightclub had already settled for 500,000 dollars, and the shooter was in prison. New York attorney Richard Fischbein, who according to his own statements had been appointed administrator of the estate only two weeks earlier, knew of neither the lawsuit nor the judgment.

What Came of It

In July 1998, Judge Arnold Gold in Los Angeles overturned the payment order: The estate did not have to pay because its attorneys had not had an opportunity to present a defense. In October 1998, McNealey tentatively agreed to a settlement of two million dollars. More on Tupac’s legal proceedings: Tupac in court.