A small independent record company won a $132 million verdict against industry heavyweight Island Def Jam Music Group and its top executive on Tuesday in a dispute over an unreleased record by rapper Ja Rule.

Ja Rule, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, started his career with TVT in 1993 and moved to Island Def Jam with president Steve Gottlieb's blessing five years later, TVT attorney Peter Haviland said.

In spring 2001, Ja Rule and two friends tried to make an album for TVT that included early Ja Rule recordings, but Def Jam's parent record company Universal Music Group blocked its completion, the lawyer said.

Haviland said Gottlieb was "left in ruins" when he could not release the album he was counting on.

Island Def Jam lawyer James M. Larossa agreed that Gottlieb and his record company were entitled to the finished but unreleased album, money for costs he cannot recoup and other factors.

In a statement, Gottlieb said he was "extremely pleased" with the verdict. Haviland said Def Jam and Cohen were "bullies" who "finally got caught."