EXCLUSIVE: Fat Joe’s Lawyer Blasts Tyrone Blackburn’s Renewed Bias Claim “Gratuitous And Frivolous”

Fat Joe‘s lawyer Joseph Tacopina called Tyrone Blackburn’s renewed accusation of judicial bias “gratuitous and frivolous” as the two sides continued fighting over the rapper’s legal bills.

Tacopina took aim at Blackburn in a November 5 letter to Judge Jennifer L. Rochon, arguing that the attorney was again accusing Magistrate Judge Jennifer E. Willis of prejudice after she had already rejected his request to step aside.

“Having already raised and lost his recusal motion, Blackburn continues to equate adverse judicial rulings with personal animus, without identifying any new evidence of bias or partiality,” Tacopina wrote. “His renewed, unsupported accusation is especially unwarranted in a motion seeking review of a narrow procedural ruling.”

Blackburn previously represented Terrance “T.A.” Dixon, Fat Joe’s former hypeman.

Their dispute produced competing lawsuits and sanctions against Blackburn over his conduct during depositions. The latest filing concerned how the court handled records used to calculate a legal-fee award.

Tacopina’s letter quoted Blackburn’s challenge as calling the disputed ruling “yet another example of the clear bias exhibited by Magistrate Judge Willis against me and my former client, Terrance Dixon, since her addition to this case.”

The accusation followed an unsuccessful effort to remove Judge Willis from the cases.

Blackburn sought her recusal on September 28, and she denied the request on September 29.

Blackburn had argued that Judge Willis dismissed his explanation that medication affected his deposition behavior and that he treated the opposing lawyers more favorably.

In rejecting recusal, she said she had considered his cross-motion for sanctions and had criticized Tacopina’s conduct, too.

Judge Willis distinguished that conduct from what she found to be Blackburn’s broader pattern of misconduct. She said her decisions reflected the record rather than personal prejudice.

“The Court has no personal bias against any Party in this matter,” Judge Willis wrote in the September order.

Tacopina’s new opposition asked Judge Rochon to reject Blackburn’s challenge to an October 22 ruling about supplemental fee records.

His letter argued that spreadsheets submitted to help determine sanctions were different from evidence exchanged during discovery and therefore were not governed by the same provisions of the protective order.

He also disputed Blackburn’s claim of selective enforcement.

According to Tacopina, Fat Joe’s lawyers emailed the spreadsheets to the judge and copied Blackburn as directed, while Blackburn publicly filed objections containing confidential financial information.

“Plaintiff’s compliance with the Court’s email-submission procedure did not authorize Blackburn to publicly disclose confidential information,” Tacopina wrote.

The sanctions dispute grew out of depositions that Judge Willis found were disrupted by improper conduct.

Her June ruling awarded Fat Joe certain fees and costs and referred Blackburn’s conduct to the district’s attorney-discipline committee.

Blackburn later withdrew as Dixon’s lawyer, but remained involved personally in Fat Joe’s defamation case and the sanctions proceedings.

Fat Joe alleged Dixon and Blackburn used false accusations to pressure him for money. Dixon brought a separate lawsuit alleging sexual and financial abuse, which the rapper denied.

Tacopina argued that the current challenge could not reopen the sanctions findings or settle

Blackburn’s separate objections to the amount sought. His November 5 letter asked Judge Rochon to deny Blackburn’s motion in full.