Erika Girardi and her estranged husband, Tom Girardi, have been slapped with a new lawsuit. According to court documents obtained by Radar Online, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills pair are being sued by the Law Office of Philip R. Sheldon and the law firm of Robert P. Finn.
The lawyers were originally only going after Girardi but have now added the Pretty Mess singer. The suit accuses the defendants of breach of contract and fraud.
The lawyers who are suing say they referred thousands of cases to Girardi and his law firm “pursuant to an agreement to share in the attorneys’ fees paid when the cases settled.”
The two lawyers suing, “are both seniors who devoted the twilight years of their careers to working on these cases with the promise and expectation that they would have the resources necessary to retire once Girardi paid them for the services they performed.”
In the lawsuit, the lawyers accuse Girardi of hiding money owed to them and refusing to pay up per their deal.
Instead, they believe “Girardi embezzled and redirected the funds to family members, friends, partners, lenders, and creditors, and used the money to fund outrageously lavish lifestyles for himself and his wife Erika Jayne, who is better known as one of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
They believe, “To avoid paying Plaintiffs the amounts owed, Girardi and his firm “loaned” millions of dollars to Girardi’s wife, and then filed a sham “divorce” to fraudulently keep the money from Plaintiffs and other vulnerable victims.” The suit is seeking nearly $5 million in damages.
Another defendant in the lawsuit is Girardi’s son-in-law, David Lira, who worked for his father-in-law as a lawyer at his firm. Lira has been mentioned in a separate pending legal action involving Girardi.
In a federal lawsuit, Girardi’s former clients sued him for allegedly embezzling money they were awarded in a settlement. The plaintiffs were all widows and orphans who lost their loved ones in a plane crash.
They accuse Girardi and Jayne of embezzling millions owed to them. In the case, Lira claimed he tried to get Girardi to pay the clients, but he refused, reports . Jayne has remained silent on the matter thus far. The case is ongoing.
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: Sara De Boer/startraksphoto.com; Damian Dovarganes/AP/Shutterstock
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