The 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star celebrates a judge's ruling in her favor in a lawsuit filed by two of her estranged husband Tom Girardi's former colleagues.
- Sep 1, 2022
AceShowbiz - Erika Jayne has one less problem to worry about now. The reality TV star scored a win in a $5 million fraud lawsuit filed by two of her estranged husband Tom Girardi's former colleagues, attorneys Philip R. Sheldon and Robert P. Finn.
On Tuesday, August 30, Erika's attorney Evan C. Borges confirmed to Page Six that Los Angeles Judge Richard Fruin recently found no evidence that 51-year-old singer participated in "any wrongdoing." The judge also ruled that Erika did not owe Philip and Robert any fiduciary duty, which is the obligation a party has to act in another party's best interest.
Met on Wednesday at a farmers market in Los Angeles, Erika appeared to be in good spirits as she declared, "It's a good day." When asked by Daily Mail if she felt vindicated by the court ruling, she said, "Yes, I do."
As to what she would like to say to her haters, the cast member of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" said, "All I asked for was some time and some understanding. And today is a good day."
Erika echoed the message in a statement posted on her Instagram page. Celebrating the court win, she posted a screenshot of Page Six's article with a caption that read, "Thank you to my friends that have stood beside me. All I asked for was time and understanding."
In late 2020, Erika was sued by Philip and Robert, who accused her of "aiding and abetting" Tom in his alleged crime. They claimed that she knew her husband had been using their cut of settlement money to fund her lavish lifestyle.
In making the decision, the judge cited Erika's deposition in which she told the court, "Listen, they did all the books at Girardi & Keese. They were in charge of all of the ledgers ... I didn't do the invoices. I just thought it would all be taken care of. I didn't really ask. Like, it's not like I was raking in millions of bucks ... I didn't know what they were doing down there."
The judge also cited a declaration from the plaintiffs themselves, in which they admitted that Erika never actually participated in agreements between Tom and his colleagues. The judge said that the plaintiffs' attempts to prove Erika had "actual knowledge" that funds were misappropriated were not based on any direct evidence.
"The evidence is irrelevant," the judge ruled, per the documents, which also state that Erika's "lavish and extravagant hobby funded by the spouses' community property is not evidence of the 'actual knowledge' any breach of fiduciary duty" between Erika and the plaintiffs.
The judge concluded in his ruling, "The Court finds that there is no triable issue of material fact as to Ms Girardi having 'actual knowledge' of plaintiffs claims of the existence of a fiduciary duty between plaintiffs and [Girardi and Girardi & Keese]." He declared, "The Court, therefore, grants summary judgement in favor of defendant Erika Girardi."
The plaintiffs' attorney Ronald Richards stated that they plan to appeal the ruling.
In other news, it has been reported that Tom allegedly wired $300,000 to his supposed mistress, Tricia Bigelow, the week she closed on a Santa Monica property. He allegedly transferred the money from a trust account containing settlement money for clients of his law firm, rather than from his personal bank account.
The transfer reportedly came as a surprise to Tom's then-wife Erika, who expressed shock over the revelation during a deposition earlier this month. "F**k me," she exclaimed, adding that there was "no way" he told her that piece of information.
