Faith Evans has suffered a legal setback involving the business created to manage her late husband The Notorious B.I.G.’s legacy. The dispute centers on rights once held by his mother, Voletta Wallace. It also involves who can exercise those rights following her death.
Faith lost a Delaware court dispute involving The Notorious B.I.G. LLC and Wayne Barrow
A Delaware Court of Chancery judge ruled August 7 in favor of Wayne Barrow, acting as trustee of the Voletta Wallace Revocable Trust, in his dispute with Evans and Notorious B.I.G., LLC. The court’s memorandum opinion granted Barrow summary judgment on claims that the trust is a member of the company and is entitled to distributions. Evans and the company’s opposing counterclaim was dismissed.
Evans and Voletta Wallace formed the Delaware LLC in 2007 to manage intellectual property created and owned by Christopher Wallace, better known as the Notorious BIG. Under a 2023 operating agreement, Evans and Voletta each owned half of the membership units. They also assigned half of their respective distribution interests to Wallace’s children, Ty’anna Wallace and Christopher Jordan “CJ” Wallace.
The agreement specifically identified Voletta’s trust as a permitted transferee. Weeks before her February 2025 death, Voletta amended the trust to remove CJ Wallace and another successor trustee, leaving Barrow as its sole successor trustee. Barrow formally accepted that appointment in March 2025.
After Voletta died, Evans became the LLC’s sole manager and stopped making distributions to the trust. The ruling says Evans disputed whether the trust qualified as a member of the company. Barrow sued in July 2025 and sought a declaration recognizing the trust’s membership and distribution rights.
The court rejected Evans’ interpretation of the operating agreement. It found that amending Voletta’s trust did not create a new legal entity. The trust therefore remained a permitted transferee under the LLC agreement.
The decision does not end every dispute surrounding Voletta’s estate. CJ filed a separate Pennsylvania case challenging the changes that left Barrow as sole trustee and executor. The Delaware court noted that the Pennsylvania litigation remains pending but found no basis to delay its decision because Barrow currently has authority to act for the trust.
Barrow’s attorney, Jay W. Freiberg, said his client felt vindicated by the decision. The report also noted that Evans’ representatives had not publicly responded to the ruling at the time of publication.
The case adds another legal chapter to the management of The Notorious B.I.G.’s legacy, nearly three decades after the rapper’s death.
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Reported by Misbah Pandith on Mandatory.
