There’s been a major update in the $25 million lawsuit that’s been haunting Erika Jayne for years. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star just spoke to Andy Cohen about this lawsuit during the Season 15 reunion. The same day that their conversation aired, the bankruptcy trustee sold the rights to a third party for $2 million. Here’s what that means for Erika—and for the victims of Tom Girardi’s fraudulent behavior.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star is facing a potentially expensive legal battle
Erika was first sued back in 2021 by the trustee handling the bankruptcy case involving Tom’s law firm, Girardi Keese. They said that Tom funneled $25 million through Erika’s “business.” Earlier this month, the trustee asked for approval to sell the rights to the lawsuit.
According to court docs reviewed by Daily Mail, the request was approved on April 23. The trustee sold the lawsuit for $2 million. However, that doesn’t mean that Erika is off the hook.
The estate sold the rights of the lawsuit to LHA Land LLC. They will continue pursuing Erika for the $25 million. The parties are due in court on May 19.
What this means for Tom’s victims is that there’s now some more money in the pot that could potentially go towards their financial relief. Attorney Ronald Richards, who RHOBH fans know has been on Erika’s ass for years, sees this as a win.
“I’ve spent five years pursuing Erika Girardi to bring justice to the victims of her husband’s fraud,” he told the outlet. ”’I am satisfied that those efforts have resulted in creating a value of $2 million to the trustees.”
He added, “Hopefully that money will go to reimburse the victims who lost their hard-earned settlements as a result of her husband’s fraudulent behavior.”
At the RHOBH Season 15 reunion, Erika spoke about the difficulty of having this multimillion-dollar lawsuit lingering over her. She admitted that she wasn’t sure what she would do if she wound up losing this suit.
“You can file for bankruptcy, or you can fight it out in court,” Erika told Andy. “’You can go to trial, you can cut a deal, you can die in the streets. I have no idea.’
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills continues on Thursdays at 8/7c on Bravo. You can always stream it on Peacock.
TELL US – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE TRUSTEE SELLING THE RIGHTS TO THIS LAWSUIT? DO YOU THINK THERE’S A CHANCE ERIKA COULD LOSE IN COURT?
