DMX Estate Copyright Lawsuit: Ruling, Ownership, and Child Support

A New York judge ruled on April 7, 2025 that the estate of Earl Simmons, the rapper known as DMX, is the sole owner of his copyrights, trademarks, and likeness rights, dismissing the core of a lawsuit by his ex-wife Tashera Simmons that had sought half-ownership of his intellectual property. The DMX estate copyright lawsuit turned on what the couple’s 2016 divorce settlement actually gave her, and Judge David F. Everett of the New York Supreme Court found it gave her royalty payments, not ownership.¹

What Tashera Simmons Claimed

Tashera Simmons and DMX married in 1999 and divorced in 2016. Their divorce settlement referenced “intellectual property,” and in 2024 she sued the estate arguing that language granted her co-ownership of 50 percent of DMX’s copyrights, trademarks, and likeness rights.²

The stakes were significant. Billboard estimated the value of DMX’s music assets, including master recordings and publishing royalties, at roughly $17.7 million, and potentially $19.6 million if he held a co-publishing stake.³ A win for Tashera Simmons would have given her veto power over projects like a potential biopic and a share of virtually all revenue the estate produced.⁴

The Five Letters of Direction

Central to the case were five “Letters of Direction” that DMX signed in place of a formal qualified domestic relations order. Those letters instructed five entities to pay Tashera Simmons 50 percent of DMX’s royalty income from recordings made between August 9, 1998 and January 8, 2013. The named entities were Universal Music Publishing Group, ASCAP, SoundExchange, Def Jam Records, and Her Royal Majesty’s Records (doing business as Bodog Music).⁵

The estate argued the letters defined the full extent of her entitlement: a share of royalties from a defined window, not ownership of the underlying works. Her attorney, Samuel J. Ferrara, argued the divorce agreement’s broader references to intellectual property went beyond what the letters spelled out and conveyed an ownership stake.¹

How the Judge Ruled

Judge Everett sided with the estate. He found that the 2016 settlement “does not unequivocally assign ownership of the decedent’s copyrighted works or trademark and, indeed, makes no mention of ownership or title to such property.”⁶ The phrase “intellectual property” in the agreement, he concluded, was followed by definitions that limited its meaning to royalty payments.¹

The judge also observed that DMX himself had consistently maintained the agreement covered only royalties, and that the person “best positioned to contest a contrary interpretation is now deceased.”² He found further that Tashera Simmons had effectively waived her right to challenge the estate’s interpretation by failing to raise the ownership question in earlier litigation that ended in a separate settlement.¹

The ruling declared the estate the “sole owner of all intellectual property rights (including all copyrights and trademark rights)” that DMX acquired during the marriage and that he held at his death. It confined Tashera Simmons’s rights to the royalty payments specified in the five Letters of Direction and held that she is “not otherwise entitled to any monies of any kind generated by or attributed to services rendered by” DMX.⁷

What Tashera Simmons Still Gets

Her royalty stream survives untouched. The Letters of Direction remain in force, so she continues to receive 50 percent of DMX’s royalty income from recordings made between August 9, 1998 and January 8, 2013, paid through the five named entities.⁵

The Child Support Claim Is Still Alive

One piece of the lawsuit survived dismissal. Tashera Simmons alleged the estate owed her $214,000 in unpaid child support under the divorce agreement. Judge Everett declined to dismiss that claim, calling it “factually disputed by both sides” and ruling that dismissal at the pleading stage would be premature. He severed the child support claim from the dismissed copyright claims so it could proceed on its own, and it remained pending as of the April 2025 ruling.⁵

Why the Ownership Question Was Open

DMX died on April 9, 2021, at age 50, without a will.⁸ With no will and reportedly 15 children by multiple mothers, New York’s intestate succession laws governed who would inherit and administer the estate, and disputes over control and ownership followed.⁹ The copyright claim was the highest-value fight to reach a ruling, because it decided who could license, release, and profit from his catalog.

What the Estate Is Doing With the IP

With ownership confirmed, the estate has moved to monetize the catalog. In May 2024 it signed an exclusive global deal with Artist Legacy Group, a firm that manages estates of deceased artists, to oversee licensing of DMX’s name, likeness, and IP across film, television, brand collaborations, and consumer products.¹⁰

Posthumous releases have continued. Exodus arrived in May 2021, a month after his death. Let Us Pray: Chapter X followed on December 13, 2024 through Def Jam, pairing DMX’s spoken-word prayers with arrangements by producer Warryn Campbell and guest appearances from Snoop Dogg, Killer Mike, MC Lyte, Lecrae, and Mary Mary.¹¹ A third project, DMX Features, was announced for summer 2025, with a lead single, “Bring Out the Worst” featuring Joyner Lucas, released in May 2025.¹² The estate has also pushed back on unauthorized commercial use, threatening legal action when the auction house GottaHaveRockandRoll listed more than 30 of DMX’s personal items, including recordings and written materials the estate said were covered by its IP rights.¹³

1
Billboard. DMX Ex-Wife Loses Bid for Half of Music Catalog
2
Vice. DMX’s Former Wife Loses Legal Fight Over Late Rapper’s Music Rights
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Billboard. DMX Music Royalties Value Analysis
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Billboard. DMX Estate Wins Fight Over Music Rights
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FindLaw. Simmons v. Lindstrom, 62907-2024
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WBLS. DMX’s Ex-Wife Tashera Simmons Loses Estate Battle Over Copyrights
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Digital Music News. DMX Estate Copyright IP Ownership Lawsuit
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NY Daily News. Platinum-Selling Hip-Hop Legend DMX’s Estate Worth Less Than $1 Million, Westchester Court Papers Show
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Page Six. Another Child Comes Forward in Rapper DMX’s Estate Battle
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Billboard. DMX Estate, Artist Legacy Group Exclusive Global Deal
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HipHopDX. DMX Posthumous Album Let Us Pray: Chapter X Release Date
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Rolling Stone. Posthumous DMX Album New Song Joyner Lucas
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ABC Audio. DMX Gon’ Give Ya Another Posthumous Album