Da Brat’s Costly Assault

Atlanta rapper Da Brat, who already served nearly three years in prison in a 2007 assault, was ordered to pay $6.4 million to the woman she attacked in a nightclub with a rum bottle.

Shayla Stevens, a former Atlanta Falcons cheerleader, sued Da Brat, whose real name is Shawntae Harris, in a Cobb County court. The trial concluded Feb. 22 with Harris ordered to pay $3.7 million in compensatory damages and an additional $2.7 million in punitive damages, according to Atlanta’s WSB-TV.

Harris’ attorney told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the amount was excessive considering the prior punishment. “I’m baffled,” attorney B.J. Bernstein told the paper. “She owned up to what happened when it happened and was punished.”

The award is justified, says Stevens’ attorney, because the Stevens sustained lifelong injuries in the assault at Studio 72, a club owned Jermaine Dupri.

“She has a brain injury and is a brain injury survivor,” attorney Mark Link told the AJC. “It’s not something that will ever go away. She had so much going for her and for it come to an abrupt stop because of this attack.”

Daily Pulse