BOSSIP Exclusive: Big Pun’s Widow Begs Judge To Free Him From Fat Joe’s Bad Contract Over $2 Mill Royalties

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Big Pun’s Estate Suing Fat Joe & Music Publisher Jelly’s Jams For Back Royalties & Damages

Big Pun’s widow said the music publisher who cut a deal with Fat Joe to profit off of Pun’s songs hasn’t paid her a dime of an estimated $2 million in royalties.

Liza Rios, the widow of Big Pun, aka Christopher Rios, told a federal judge through her lawyer Lita Rosario that Pun was supposed to get the lion’s share of his royalties under the deal between Jelly’s Jams and Pun’s mentor Fat Joe. But Rios said she hasn’t seen any royalty statements or received any of her late husband’s money – not even profits from his hit “Still Not A Player.”

“Now his wife and children have lost their homes, have lost everything,” Rosario said. “75 percent of that money was supposed to be paid to my client.”

Rios and lawyer Rosario were in Manhattan Federal Court Wednesday to ask Judge George Daniels to let Pun out of the contract between Fat Joe and Jelly’s Jams, so that Rios could start collecting the royalties herself.

“There’s a severe miscarriage of justice to allow Jelly’s Jams to continue collecting money,” Rosario said, adding that the music publisher “has double dipped, has hidden money.”

The hearing was part of Rios’ ongoing suit against Fat Joe and Jelly’s Jams, which alleges Fat Joe reneged on a deal to split Pun’s music profits. Rios wants her late husband’s back royalties, advances, damages and money from using his songs on TV and in movies.

But Brian Caplan, the lawyer for Jelly’s Jams, said his client had no obligation to pay Pun directly, because Jelly’s Jams’ deal was with Fat Joe, not Big Pun.

A judge has already ruled that only Fat Joe – not Jelly’s Jams – would be responsible for paying Big Pun’s back royalties. But Rios also sued both for money damages, and her lawyer asked the court to recalculate all of Pun’s royalties since 1998 so they can figure out exactly how much the damages should be.

“The experts on this case are saying there were $2 million in royalties owed,” Rosario said. “There is a complete basis for recalculating the entire royalties. That balance carries forward.”

But Caplan and Fat Joe’s lawyer Ben Stranzl objected to this, and asked the judge to calculate Pun’s royalties from 2008 onwards because of the statute of limitations.

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In an interview on The Breakfast Club radio show, Fat Joe said he already gave Rios a million dollars, but oddly, his lawyers haven’t used that alleged money handoff as part of their defense.

Judge Daniels didn’t issue a ruling, but offered mediation services to Rios, Fat Joe and Jelly’s Jams. If that doesn’t work, they’re scheduled to go back to court in June.

Wednesday’s hearing came as Rosario wrote a letter to Judge Daniels, asking him to reconsider letting Rios tack on fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims to her suit against Fat Joe and Jelly’s Jams.

Outside court, Rios told BOSSIP that she was hopeful that the judge saw things her way.

“I feel positive,” she said. “It was a good day…I’m confident that I’ll get what’s rightfully ours.”

We’ve reached out to Fat Joe’s rep for comment.

BigPunForever.com, WENN

Big Pun’s Widow Begs Judge To Free Him From Fat Joe’s Bad Contract