French Montana is having to pay out a $400,000 juidgement to a landscaper who claims his Tibetan mastiff “viciously” mauled him. The man, Jason Leyva, won the amount as a default judgment, last October, but Montana has since tried to convince the court to forgive his delinquency in the initial proceedings. In his defense, the rapper previously argued that he already settled the matter with the man out of court. Additionally, having left California, he was never served in person. While a Los Angeles judge initially moved to side with him, they've since changed their mind.
“French was yelling at the dog to let go and hitting the dog trying to stop him. When the dog finally let go of [my] shoulder, it did not stop attacking and instead immediately sank his teeth into my hip,” Leyva previously alleged of the incident. “French acknowledged the severity of the attack and told me that he would take care of my medical bills. I said that I was not okay, and as soon as I was able to do so, I left the premises and was driven straight to the hospital where my deep lacerations required multiple sutures, and I was prescribed powerful antibiotics to combat infection.”
French Montana's Dog
In countering French Montana's claim that he didn't know about the lawsuit, lawyers for Leyva cited an appearance on Way Up With Angela Yee from February 2024. “I just saw somebody tried to sue me for my dog biting him for $2 million. Like, yo, did a dinosaur bite you?” he joked on the show. As for Montana saying he already paid Leyva a confidential sum, the judge ruled he'll have to prove it.
All in all, French Montana's lawyer, Dariush Adli, says they're going to continue fighting and hope the judge changes their mind. “We will ask the judge to reconsider,” Adli said. “If he won’t, we’ll recommend to our client that we appeal. If the judge maintains his position, we are confident this will be overturned on appeal.”
