Tom Girardi and his wife Erika Jayne during the episode “Horsing Around” of the Bravo television show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which aired Dec. 15, 2015.Thomas Girardi's $15M Scrum With Litigation Funder Sent to Arbitration, but Asset Fight Still Could Be Public
Prominent plaintiffs attorney Thomas Girardi, better known to reality TV fans as the husband of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Erika Jayne, will see his dispute over a $15 million loan from Litigation Finance Group LLC play out before an arbitrator. The funder's attempt to attach Girardi's assets to the dispute, however, is still set play out in Los Angeles Superior Court.
April 12, 2019 at 05:14 PM
3 minute read
The fight between prominent plaintiffs attorney Thomas Girardi and a litigation funder that claims he and his firm haven't paid back a $15 million loan has been routed to arbitration. However, a significant, potentially public fight remains over whether Mill Valley-based funder Law Finance Group LLC will be able to go after Girardi's personal assets if it wins in arbitration.
Law Finance Group sued Girardi, better known to reality TV fans as the husband of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne, and his firm, Girardi Keese, in Los Angeles Superior Court in January. The funder claims that Girardi and the firm refused to hand over recovered fees from cases the parties allegedly agreed would repay the loans.
Girardi asked last month for the dispute to be routed to arbitration, a move that Law Finance Group did not oppose. Los Angeles Superior Judge Gregory Alarcon granted Girardi's motion to compel arbitration in the case in early April. However, a hearing remains pending on Alarcon's calendar for April 24 on Law Finance Group's writ of attachment, which seeks to secure some of Girardi's assets to pay out damages should the funder succeed on its underlying claims now in arbitration.
Among the assets listed in Law Finance Group's filing are a home in Pasadena, the Girardi Keese offices on Willshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, the firm's bank account and receivables, and nine other bank accounts.
Girardi didn't respond to requests for comment.
Leslie Corwin of Eisner, Law Finance Group's lawyer, said in correspondence to Girardi attached to court filing that the lawsuit was filed in state court explicitly so his client could secure assets. “This matter was originally filed in Los Angeles Superior Court because arbitrators are not authorized to grant certain statutory provisional remedies, including writ of attachments,” Corwin wrote. “For that reason, despite our agreement to proceed with arbitration, please be advised that the hearing on the Writ of Attachment shall not be stayed.”
In a phone interview this week, Corwin said that although the dispute with Girardi will play out in arbitration, his client is moving forward with its effort to attach Girardi's assets to the case. “The writ of attachment hearing, the judge agreed, is going forward and is going forward on April 24,” Corwin said. “Right now it's on, and we have every intention of it going forward as scheduled on the 24th.”
Girardi notably scored $333 million settlement on behalf of residents of Hinkley in the toxic tort case that inspired the film “Erin Brockovich.” Girardi's finances and those of the firm, however, have repeatedly been the subject of litigation since his wife joined the cast of the Bravo reality television show in 2015.
Read Law Finance Group's Writ:
|This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Bolstering Southern California Presence, Sidley Austin Settles Into Revitalized Downtown LA Office
Apple Asks Judge to 'Follow the Majority Practice' in Dismissing Patent Dispute Over Night Vision Technology
Trending Stories
- 1Weil Practice Leaders Expected to Leave for Paul Weiss, Latham
- 2Senators Grill Visa, Mastercard Execs on Alleged Anti-Competitive Practices, Fees
- 3Deal Watch: Gibson Dunn, V&E, Kirkland Lead Big Energy Deals in Another Strong Week in Transactions
- 4Advisory Opinion Offers 'Road Map' for Judges Defending Against Campaign Attacks
- 5Commencement of Child Victims Act at Heart of Federal Question Posed to NY's Top Court
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
