Trey Songz is pushing back against a hefty $11 million default judgment stemming from a 2023 battery lawsuit. The judgment was issued after the singer allegedly failed to respond to the claims brought against him by a Las Vegas police officer, Tyrelle Dunn.
The lawsuit, filed in connection with an incident in November 2021, alleges that Dunn’s wife was “escorted” to Songz’s hotel room at The Cosmopolitan, where she was “assaulted, attempted to leave, and had her phone confiscated.” Dunn claimed he heard his wife’s cries for help and, when attempting to intervene, was physically attacked by the singer. He further stated that the injuries he sustained caused him to miss a month of work.
Despite these allegations, Songz did not respond to the lawsuit, leading to a default judgment of $11,277,961.37 on October 10, 2024. However, according to newly filed legal documents obtained by InTouch Weekly, Trey’s legal team is arguing the judgment should be vacated on the grounds that the lawsuit was never properly served.
The filing states that Songz was unaware of the case until late November 2024, when fans informed him via Instagram messages after news of the default judgment surfaced.
“Good cause exists to set aside the default judgment because [Dunn] did not properly effectuate service of process of the summons and complaint on [Trey] pursuant to Nevada or California law,” the legal motion argues. “[Trey] did not know about this lawsuit until November 27, 2024, when he received Instagram messages from fans extending their support after news broke about Dunn’s default judgment.”
“[Trey] promptly engaged civil defense counsel over the Thanksgiving holiday and filed this Motion to set aside the default judgment the next week. [Trey] deserves to have his day in court to defend himself, rather than being subjected to a massive default judgment which was improperly obtained… The enforcement of this default judgment will be devastating to [Trey] and will ruin his life.”
The filing also references a completed investigation by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, which found no wrongdoing on Songz’s part and cleared him of any criminal charges. The lawsuit further claims that Dunn served the summons to guards at Songz’s gated community rather than to the singer directly, rendering the service invalid under Nevada law.
In 2022, Las Vegas police issued a statement about their findings, saying, “The LVMPD has concluded the investigation into the sexual assault allegations against [Songz] and determined that no criminal charges will be filed. If any new evidence comes to light, the case will be reopened for further investigation.”
Trey’s legal team previously expressed relief at the investigation’s conclusion, stating, “We are pleased that Trey Songz has been cleared of wrongdoing… The thorough investigation included findings of inconsistency in witness testimony and insufficient evidence. We are pleased that Trey can now return to what he does best, entertaining.”
As of now, a judge has not yet ruled on whether the default judgment will be overturned.
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