Fat Joe is asking a judge to sanction his former hypeman Terrance Dixon and his attorney Tyrone Blackburn for repeated delays and misconduct during the discovery phase of their lawsuit.
According to court documents reviewed by Complex, the 55-year-old rapper (legal name Joseph Cartagena) claims Blackburn avoided answering questions during his deposition by blaming memory issues from medication, even though he defended Dixon's deposition just days earlier. Fat Joe’s legal team is also arguing that Blackburn “obstructed his deposition using false claims of cognitive impairment.”
Blackburn also allegedly misled the judge about his travel plans, claiming he was "not flying anywhere" right before leaving for a cruise.
Per the documents, the judge warned that Blackburn had repeatedly missed deadlines, including court-ordered ones, and indicated that sanctions could increase if compliance was not met.
During his March 6 deposition, Blackburn initially dodged whether he represented Dixon, according to court docs.
"So many cases, I don't know. I can't just, it's a lot of cases... I don't have my records in front of me," he said, before later confirming, "Yes, of course."
Blackburn then blamed his memory lapses on medication he took that morning. However, the court documents state that he “could not identify the medications he claimed to have taken” before his deposition.
Per the documents, Blackburn said he “ingested eight medications, including narcotics, the morning of his deposition that could [p]ossibly prevent him from testifying truthfully.”
"[T]he medication and the local anesthesia does funny things that I don't know ….. It's messing my head up, you know," he said. “[M]y brain is a little foggy because of the medication.”
Elsewhere he said, "I have taken narcotics today and that I do think that it’s kind of int-- interfering a little bit with -- with -- with my ability to remember."
In Dixon's earlier deposition (February 24), Blackburn insulted opposing counsel Chad Seigel with remarks about his appearance, family, and personal life.
He reportedly asked, "What date is your transition surgery?" and made repeated homophobic comments about Seigel's purported “husband” before insulting Seigel's mother, saying she "should have spit you out instead of swallowing."
Dixon then supposedly mocked Seigel's appearance, telling him, “You need some damn Botox like your co-counsel, Joe Taco Face,” and escalated to threats, warning, “You'd never do this if it was outside. So watch your mouth and watch how you speak to me.”
Blackburn and Dixon discussed potential physical attacks, with Dixon claiming, "I could take you down with my left hand" and Blackburn agreeing, "Everybody could take you down ... very easily."
Blackburn also allegedly called Seigel a "piece of shit,” though he later denied saying that.
From there, Blackburn reportedly coached Dixon during the deposition by telling him things like "Don't answer that" and "he has answered it about 100 times," while supposedly attempting to block questions and prevent evidence from being considered.
Dixon allegedly avoided questions, replying "I don't recall" even when he supposedly remembered other details.
The documents note that Blackburn refused to pause the deposition clock for breaks. However, he apparently abruptly ended a seven-hour session mid-question, stating, “Time is up. Don't answer that. Time is up. Seven hours is over.”
The court documents also mention Blackburn's alleged prior history of abusive behavior toward opposing counsel in other cases, including calling a lawyer a “disgusting racist.”
What Started the Legal Battle Between Fat Joe and Terrance Dixon?
The dispute between Fat Joe and Terrance Dixon began last March, when Dixon and Tyrone Blackburn sent the rapper a demand letter seeking payment for work as a “ghostwriter and uncredited vocalist” on some of his songs.
Fat Joe allegedly ignored the letter, and the following month, Dixon and Blackburn sent a follow-up letter threatening a lawsuit over unpaid wages and additional allegations, including statutory rape, forced labor, and fraud.
The rapper's attorney Joe Tacopina called those allegations "false and outrageous" and made "with utter disregard for truth or decency."
In response, Fat Joe filed a lawsuit in April against Dixon and Blackburn for extortion, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In June 2025, Blackburn and Dixon filed a $20 million federal lawsuit against Fat Joe in the Southern District of New York, claiming he forced Dixon to engage in thousands of sex acts, underpaid him, denied songwriting credits, and threatened him.
Tacopina called the accusations “complete fabrications” intended to damage Fat Joe's reputation.
That same month, Blackburn was arrested in New York for allegedly hitting a process server with his car, a development Tacopina described as the latest example of Blackburn's "malicious and manipulative pattern of misconduct" and an embarrassment to the legal profession.
Months later, Fat Joe accused Blackburn of using bogus, AI-generated legal citations in an effort to dismiss the defamation lawsuit.
