In tandem with the public learning the full extent of Tom Girardi's various legal troubles last year, his ex-wife Erika Jayne was being accused of having some culpability in the matter. She was scrutinized for supposedly knowing and benefiting from Girardi's mismanagement of funds meant for clients/employees at his law firm. A judge even set a precedent by ruling that the fraud victims could sue the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star for what they're due. She escaped one of those lawsuits just recently, but is now facing a new multi-million dollar complaint.
The previous lawsuit – in which a judge dismissed Erika Jayne, but with Tom Girardi still potentially liable – involves victims of an airplane crash seeking approximately $2 million. In the new suit, she and her EJ Global, LLC are being sued for $2.1 million, according to filings obtained by People. The complaint comes from Kathleen Bajgrowicz, a former client of Tom Girardi and mother to late NFL star Chuck Osborne, as well as former Girardi & Keese attorney Manuel H. Miller, both of whom allege that Erika Jayne “aided and abetted” Girardi. They claim she knew about his “scheme” to withhold money from rightful parties in order to fund the then-couple's “notoriously lavish lifestyle.”
Tom Girardi and Manuel H. Miller represented Chuck Osborne’s mother when she sued the NFL for his death in 2012. Miller was supposedly owed half the fees in the case for his counsel and Bajgrowicz was owed a substantial settlement from the league. According to their suit, Girardi led them to believe that the funds couldn’t be distributed from him “until various issues were first resolved.” They alleged that the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum was (contrary to her own claims) “intimately involved” with the law firm’s dealings and is, therefore, liable.
After her name was dropped from the previous lawsuit seeking similar compensation, Erika Jayne publicly responded with claims of her own about why she has been implicated. Namely, she thinks it’s only because of her notoriety on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which Teresa Giudice’s former lawyer would seem to agree with. Erika Jayne’s lawyer Evan C. Borges told People that the new complaint was “another misguided effort” to blame her for other people's crimes. They added in their statement,
Erika has no law degree and never worked at or managed her former husband's law firm. Whatever Mr. Girardi or others at his law firm did or said to the plaintiffs in this case, Erika had no knowledge or role in any of it. The focus should be on Mr. Girardi, his law firm, and anyone else who enabled what he did. Piling on Erika may generate publicity, but it's without any basis in reality.
Along with facing the various legal woes, the Bravo star has also had to significantly downsize. Tom Girardi's law firm filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and he has been forced to sell off their home and the expensive items in it in order to pay back the victims of misappropriated money. The trustee of the bankruptcy case in fact sued Erika Jayne in court for reportedly owing back $25 million of funds that she received from the law firm.
The legal problems following Erika Jayne are one thing. Friendship problems are another, and they're apparently following the reality star again in the new season of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
