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'RHOBH' Star Erika Jayne Fires Back At $3 Million Lawsuit, Calls It A 'Publicity Stunt'

Home / Exclusive / 'RHOBH' Star Erika Jayne Fires Back At $3 Million Lawsuit, Calls It A 'Publicity Stunt'

By Ryan Naumann on February 4, 2020 at 3:23 AM PST

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“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne is fighting back in the $3 million lawsuit over a massive unpaid loan.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Erika and her husband Thomas Girardi are firing back at allegations they screwed over a lender over a $5 million loan. The couple are being sued by a lender named Stillwell Madison, who accuses them of failing to pay back the money and instead funding their lavish lifestyles.

Erika and Thomas start off by saying, “The current action was filed as a publicity stunt.” They add, “Plaintiff filed in federal court using such highly charged language as “lavish lifestyle” and “glamorous public image” with the goal to try to use the Court system as a publicity campaign.”

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The reality star and her husband are demanding the lawsuit be moved out of the public eye to arbitration. They claim the contract with the lender states all disputes will be handled in arbitration, not federal court. A judge has yet to rule.

Last year, Erika, Thomas, and his law firm were sued by a lender named Stillwell Madison. The lender claims to have provided Thomas’ law firm a loan in the amount of $5,110,440.38 in 2016. The firm was to pay back the loan with profits from cases.

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The suit claimed Thomas promised to turn over financial statements and make timely payments. However, the lender claims to have later learned, “Mr. Girardi re-directed all or part of the proceeds, to which Stillwell was contractually entitled, to himself and his wife in order to sustain their lavish lifestyle and maintain their glamorous public image.”

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The firm accuses Thomas of failing to make all the required payments per their deal. He then promised to start making monthly payments of $500k starting October 2018 and ending in September 2019.

However, Stillwell Madison claims, “Mr. Girardi has never followed through on any of his proposals—reinforcing the indication that he (nor the Firm) has, and continues to not have, any intention of repaying the loan balance.”

Stillwell said they, “would not have provided the Loan had it known that Defendants were going to use the Loan proceeds to, upon information and belief, support Mr. and Mrs. Girardi’s high-end lifestyle.”

The lender is suing seeking $3,454,804 owed plus punitive damages.

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