This summer has, overall, seemed to be a pretty good one for Tarek El Moussa. Though the HGTV star and his wife, Heather Rae, did see their series, The Flipping El Moussas, canceled along with six other HGTV shows, their hit with his ex-wife Christina Haack, The Flip Off, was finally awarded Season 2. On top of that, he’s been able to lounge poolside with his wife, ex, and her new boyfriend and figure out how all their kids are related. But, there’s been a wrinkle in his late summer good times, as his legal battle with a former employee is now moving forward.
Who’s Suing Tarek El Moussa And Why?
According to Us Weekly, Jeffrey Revoy (who worked for Tarek El Moussa from September 2021 through July 2022) filed a lawsuit against the Flip or Flop star in August 2023, claiming wrongful termination, breach of contract and retaliation. The suit also names El Moussa’s business partner and his companies, Digital Foundation Group and Tarek Buys Homes, as other defendants. Recent court documents state that an Orange County Superior Court judge set a trial start date of October 12, 2026.
The suit claims that after Revoy was hired as the CEO for Tarek Buys Homes, early 2022 saw him pay for the services of an outside human resources company, and that they found employees who called El Moussa’s business partner “demeaning.” That was allegedly followed by another complaint from within the company about the same person in July, which led Revoy to contact the HR firm again.
Revoy, who was also hired to help with Digital Foundation Group for a time during his employment, then claims in his lawsuit that the same month saw El Moussa (who was once accused of having an on-set tirade directed at Haack while filming) become upset and throw a sandwich at one of his assistants because there wasn’t mustard on it. While the incident was reported by a crew member, supposedly nothing was done to address the matter because the worker who got hit wasn’t employed by HGTV.
He also claims that the same day saw a long-time employee of the TV star quit because of “inexcusable” conduct, which reportedly included using foul language, “screaming” and “yelling.”
It was allegedly on July 29, 2022 that Revoy was sent an email from El Moussa’s personal lawyer which relieved him of his duties as an employee. He believes that the action was retaliation for taking issues with El Moussa’s business partner to HR. He also claims that during his tenure with the company, The Flip Off lead used $250,000 of Digital Foundation Group cash for his own use, though he did eventually replace the funds. That has led him to believe that his firing was also due to “financial pressures to terminate” him so that they could save money.
How Did Tarek El Moussa Respond To The Wrongful Termination Lawsuit?
The damages being requested are unspecified in the suit, but either way, El Moussa clearly has his own view of what happened, because he filed a countersuit against Revoy. His counterclaim alleges that Revoy falsified allegations against another employee, which led Revoy to fire them and to El Moussa paying hundreds of thousands of dollars while entangled in a legal fight with that former worker. He’s also suing for breach of fiduciary duties and other things. Revoy has denied all of the claims against him.
Revoy Also Filed Suit Against El Moussa For Breach Of Contract
In a separate lawsuit that was filed in February 2024, Revoy also alleged that El Moussa was in breach of contract after co-founding TEM Capital Management, a real estate company, where Revoy was supposed to own 15% while the flipping expert owned 75%. According to Revoy, he ran the company from its beginning through the first year, after which El Moussa “reneged on their enforceable bargain and pretended — despite all evidence to the contrary — that Revoy never had an interest in” said company.
A month later, the father of three denied the claims, and asked the suit be thrown out, with his attorney stating:
[El Moussa] alleges that [Revoy’s] alleged claims and damages, if any, are barred in whole or in part because they were caused by and are attributable to the acts or omissions of [Revoy] himself or third parties for whom [El Moussa] is not responsible.
July 24 saw Revoy file for that suit to be dismissed without prejudice, so that it can be refiled in the future if he so decides. While it seems obvious that these two have very different views of their time working together, we’ll likely all have to wait until they get their time in court to see how everything shakes out.
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