Can Straight Outta Compton lawsuit continue after NWA manager’s death?

The late former NWA manager Jerry Heller’s defamation lawsuit against the filmmakers of Straight Outta Compton may not go ahead after all.

Heller sued for US$110 million after the NWA biopic was released in 2015, claiming he was unfairly portrayed as the “ruthless bad guy” and business predator, as played by Paul Giamatti.

Named in the suit were those involved in the making of the blockbuster, including band members Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, director F. Gary Gray and heads at NBCUniversal.

They managed to get much of Heller’s allegations thrown out of court. But a court agreed that there was one scene – where he discouraged an artist who was about to sign a record deal from getting a lawyer to give him advice – which the judge agreed was a serious allegation.

Heller was to be deposed in August. But the Hollywood Reporter stated that a day before his court appearance, Heller’s legal team claimed the lawyers representing the Straight Outta Compton people had an unspecified conflict of interest that should stop them from continuing to act for them.

The film’s defence team sharply rejected this notion and challenged Heller’s lawyers to come up with proof.

Unfortunately, Heller died before his could happen. On September 16, he had a heart attack while driving. He crashed his car as a result, and died later from his injuries, He was aged 75.

Under California law, when a plaintiff passes away during litigation his claims survive. Heller’s lawyer, Michael Shapiro, this week applied to a court to keep the case juicing until October 20. He wanted to introduce a successor in interest, saying that Heller was determined to clear his name.

However, as the Hollywood Reporter said, no successor has yet been named so the case may not be able to proceed.

Shapiro has in the past said the release of Straight Outta Compton caused Heller so much anguish and stress that it caused his death.

“Jerry Heller would be alive today if not for that movie,” Shapiro said, adding that he had not slept since and the film left Heller “heart broken.”

After his death, names as Ice Cube said he would not be shedding tears over his passing.

However Heller’s 50-year career was more than managing NWA or how he was portrayed in the movie. Based in Los Angeles, his autobiography reported how he helped break Otis Redding, Kraftwerk, Marvin Gaye and Pink Floyd in America.

He was the booking agent for the legendary Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, which made household names out of Jimi Hendrix, The Who and Ravi Shankar. He also booked Elton John on his first US tour.

In the late ‘70s, he took up rap with gusto. One of his acts J.J. Fad was nominated for the first rap Grammy. He also spotted the huge potential of NWA and set up Ruthless Records with NWA’s Eazy E to release their ground-breaking debut album Straight Outta Compton.