Ariana Madix coming across an intimate video of Rachel Leviss on Tom Sandoval’s phone is what kicked off the entire Vanderpump Rules mess that came to be known as Scandoval. Though this all transpired over a year ago, the fallout continues.
Aside from a shift in VPR friendship dynamics and outright feuds, legal action has also come into play. Tom and Ariana are currently battling it out in court over putting their shared home on the market. And, Rachel filed a revenge porn lawsuit against both Tom and Ariana over the video that started it all.
In recent “Everyone Loves Sues Tom” news, Tom recently demanded that the judge presiding over Rachel’s lawsuit be replaced immediately. Radar Online had the details.
Tom claims that the original judge chosen to preside over Rachel’s case had potential prejudice
Rachel’s suit accuses Tom of recording sexually explicit FaceTime calls between them without her consent. She also alleges that Ariana discovered the recordings on Sandoval’s phone and shared them with their VPR co-stars. She’s suing Tom and Ariana for alleged revenge porn and asking for unspecified damages.
Court documents reveal that Tom’s attorney, Matthew J. Geragos, filed a ‘Peremptory Challenge’ on April 9, requesting the replacement of the assigned judge with another.
The filing stated, “The judicial officer named above [Honorable Anne Richardson], before whom the trial of, or a hearing in, this case is pending, or to whom it has been assigned, is prejudiced against the party (or his or her attorney) or the interest of the party (or his or her attorney), so the declarant cannot, or believes that he or she cannot, have a fair and impartial trial or hearing before the judicial officer.”
Judge Richardson then recused herself from the case in a recent hearing and appointed Judge Crowley to take over.
The prejudices Tom and his attorney suspect weren’t revealed. It’s easy to assume that it could be because Tom and Rachel’s affair reached far past VPR’s regular audience and was heavily covered in the mainstream media. My great auntie was even disgusted by Tom’s “Ariana kept her t-shirt on” comment, so finding an objective judge was probably a tall order.
Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules continues Tuesdays at 8/7c. on Bravo.
TELL US – WHY DO YOU THINK TOM AND HIS ATTORNEY BELIEVED THAT THE ORIGINAL JUDGE WASN’T IMPARTIAL?
