*With the plaintiff now deceased, the lawsuit that accuses the film “Straight Outta Compton” of defaming former N.W.A manager Jerry Heller may not proceed, according to a Monday court filing.
Heller was in the midst of his defamation lawsuit against the biopic’s producers and others involved with the film when he died of a heart attack in September.
Although the court has thrown out most of the complaint over the course of the proceedings, one claim still remains: that Heller was portrayed as exploiting an unsophisticated young artist by discouraging him from hiring a lawyer during contract negotiations.
Heller was set to be deposed in August, but his attorneys canceled the day before — claiming the defense team has an unspecified conflict of interest that would disqualify them from continuing to represent the defendants in this case, according to a joint statement filed by defense attorney Jeff Scott with the agreement of Heller’s attorney Michael Shapiro. Defense counsel disputed the conflict and asked to move forward, but Heller died before the issue could be resolved.
Shapiro is seeking a stay of the lawsuit until Oct. 20, to try to get the court’s permission to continue the suit in the name of a successor-in-interest.
However, so far no successor has been named and it also remains to be seen whether Heller’s team plans to pursue a motion to disqualify some or all of the defense team.
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