Erika Girardi or as she is also known as Erika Jayne is fighting to have a lawyer removed from her estranged husband, Tom Girardi’s bankruptcy case after the attorney filed documents alleging the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star wasn’t cooperating in the investigation.
According to court documents obtained by Page Six, Jayne’s lawyers assert that she “has been and remains willing to cooperate fully” with the investigation and demands that lawyer Ronald N. Richards be removed from the case for making “false and inflammatory social media posts and public statements” about her.
Jayne “is not a media fiction. She is a real person with rights, including the right to be treated fairly in these proceedings based on actual evidence and the law,” the documents state.
Her lawyers alleged that Richards’ social media posts “violate the ethical rules to which he is bound and that unfairly target [her] in an attempt to destroy her credibility before any claim is even brought against her in this proceeding.”
They also alleged that Richards “continued to harass” her “publicly through extra-judicial statements, including social media” to his over 16,000 followers and that he was engaging in YouTube interviews that harm the case.
Jayne included screenshots of his social media activity — specifically his tweets directed at Jayne and Girardi — in her filing.
Richards released a statement via Page Six, “Not a single professional of Erika’s has cooperated with our office regarding the Girardi Keese estate. We have filed numerous motions seeking documents and communications. This motion is designed to slow down our work. The Thomas Girardi estate is moving for relief from stay to pursue her in state court. This does not look like cooperation.”
He added, “It is laughable to suggest that our 16,000 followers compared to Erika’s 417,000 followers in a City of 12,500,000 would somehow would have an impact on anything. The first amendment does not leave itself in the doorways of the courthouse and the motion is a transparent attempt to interfere with the Trustee’s choice of counsel. These first amendment arguments were previously raised by her other counsel and rejected. No gag order was issued. Simply submitting innocuous and inadmissible hearsay comments on publicly filed documents does not create any relevant or actionable information.”
Meanwhile, according to court documents filed by Richards, Jayne was accused of refusing to turn over her bank records to the bankruptcy trustee and using her “glam” lifestyle to conceal assets in the case.
The trustee also accused the Pretty Mess singer of creating a new company after she filed for divorce from Girardi in November 2020 and before he was accused of embezzling funds meant for Lion Air Flight 610 victims. The trustee reported to the court that they would investigate the alleged “successor” company as well.
However, the petitioning creditors in the bankruptcy case filed a motion on Wednesday, June 23, for Erika’s accountant, Michael Ullman, to give the court bank statements, receipts, pay stubs, and records of his communication with Jayne’s divorce lawyer, Larry Ginsburg.
“Erika has refused to provide access to her management company, her CPA which also houses her management company, any books and records of EJ Global or any of her affiliated companies,” the documents read courtesy via Us Weekly. “As each day goes by, Erika has been publicly dissipating community assets by selling her clothes on public websites, flaunting large jewels on social media and on television, and has done nothing to assist in return structured firm payments being made to her instead of the firm by the California lottery, notwithstanding she was contacted through counsel over twelve days ago.”
Erika and Tom made headlines in November 2020 when the Bravo reality star filed for divorce after 20 years of marriage. The following month, the estranged couple was sued for fraud and embezzlement.
In addition to accusing them of swindling $2 million in settlement funds intended for families of victims of a 2018 plane crash, class action firm Edelson PC claimed in federal court documents that the divorce was “simply a sham attempt to fraudulently protect Tom’s and Erika’s money from those that seek to collect on debts owed by Tom and his law firm.”
Tom faced a second lawsuit later that month, alleging that his company breached a written agreement and conversation with Wells Fargo Vendor Financial Services. The bank sought immediate payment on the $882,715 outstanding bill.
The 82-yar-old was placed under a temporary conservatorship in February when his brother assumed control of his daily activities and personal care. One of Tom’s attorneys claimed in court in December 2020 that he was hospitalized for a “serious illness,” raising questions about his mental competency. Court documents revealed in March that Tom was diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Photo Credit: Bravo Media/NBCUniversal
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