SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Grammy-nominated music producer Dr. Kevin Khao Cates says he is trying to rebuild after what he calls a wrongful eviction left his nonprofit headquarters and recording studio devastated.
“I feel like by the grace of God I’m here,” Cates said.
Cates, founder of Bridge Da Gap, said Fulton County marshals forced him out of the Buffington Center property on March 12, costing him millions of dollars in damaged studio equipment, hard drives, films and unreleased music.
“Hard drives, movies, music, irreparable harm that’s damaged and gone,” he said.
Cates, who has worked with artists including T.I., Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar, said the sudden eviction ended years of work and investment into the facility.
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“We invested millions into building this building up,” he said.
According to Cates, the dispute traces back to 2019, when he signed a lease-to-own agreement with the original owner of the Buffington Center building and paid more than $600,000 toward purchasing the property.
But in 2022, Cates said he learned the original owner had sold the property to PJX, a new ownership company.
Cates said he repeatedly attempted to pay rent to the new owner, despite him claiming he was the rightful owner.
However, court documents reviewed by Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln show those payments were returned because the new owners claimed Cates was not their tenant.
For the last two years, Cates said he has been involved in both federal and state court battles with the current property owner over possession of the property.
He said he believed those legal proceedings had delayed any eviction.
Instead, Cates said he was blindsided when marshals arrived.
“I come outside and ask what they’re doing here. They say, ‘We’re here to evict,’” Cates said.
The Fulton County Marshal’s Office confirmed to Lincoln that a judge signed off on the eviction on Feb. 15. Court records show the case remained inactive for several weeks until March 10, when marshals were assigned to execute the order at the request of the property owner.
Cates said he was never notified.
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“They violated any kind of due process,” he said.
The Fulton County Marshal’s Office said it does not notify tenants and only carries out court-ordered evictions.
Channel 2 Action News also reached out to the Fulton County Magistrate Clerk’s Office, which is responsible for court notifications, but did not receive a response.
Cates said the damage reaches beyond his property loss.
“Now it’s bigger than me fighting for what we built,” he said. “It’s about them stealing it from me and the harm that they caused me.”
Channel 2 Action News contacted the former property owner, who has not responded. An attorney for the current owner, PJX, denies Cates’ claims and says they’ve been successful in court after years of law suites filed by Cates.
The company’s attorney goes on to say PJX has not acted wrongfully or improperly. PJX was delayed, over a period of years, from utilizing and possessing the subject property, delay caused by the various lawsuits referenced above.
As Cates continues to challenge the eviction, he is also raising money to relocate Bridge Da Gap and rebuild his studio operations.
Cates says the nonprofit has been active in the community for nearly 20 years, with celebrities like Meagan Good sitting on the board.
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