Erika Jayne Wins $5 Million Fraud Lawsuit After Court Finds No Evidence Of Wrongdoing

Erika Jayne was sued by Philip R. Sheldon and Robert P. Finn for ‘aiding and abetting’ Girardi in his alleged crime. They said the reality star was aware that her ex-husband was using their part of the settlement money to fund her lavish life. Erika has now won a significant victory against their claims.

According to Page Six, Erika Jayne won a key victory in court this week in the $5 million fraud lawsuit filed in late 2020 by two of her ex-husband Tom Girardi’s former colleagues, attorneys Sheldon and Finn. Jayne’s attorney Evan C. Borges confirmed it to the outlet on Tuesday that Los Angeles Judge Richard Fruin found no evidence that the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star was involved in “any wrongdoing.”

The judge ruled Monday that the plaintiffs failed to prove that the “RHOBH” star had any “actual knowledge” of Girardi’s alleged crimes. The judge noted Jayne’s deposition, in which she stated, “Listen, they did all the book at Girardi & Keese. They were in charge of all the ledgers … I didn’t do the invoices.”

I just thought it would all be taken care of. I didn’t really ask. Like, it’s not like I was raking in millions of bucks … I didn’t know what they were doing down there.

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The judge then cited a declaration from the plaintiffs, in which they admitted that Jayne was never a party to any agreements between Girardi and his colleagues. The plaintiffs’ attempts to prove Jayne had “actual knowledge” that funds were misappropriated to EJ Global LLC, as per Judge Fruin, were based on “inferences” concerning “circumstantial evidence,” such as her income and expense schedule.

The evidence is irrelevant. Jayne’s lavish and extravagant hobby funded by the spouses’ community property is not evidence of the ‘actual knowledge’ any breach of fiduciary duty.

The judge also stated that he made his decision because Sheldon and Finn did not prove that Jayne owed them any fiduciary duty, which is the obligation a party has to act in the best interests of another party. He further stated that Girardi was not to blame since attorneys “do not owe fiduciary duties to their co-counsel.”

The Court finds that there is no triable issue of material fact as to Ms Girardi having ‘actual knowledge’ of plaintiffs claims of the existence of a fiduciary duty between plaintiffs and [Girardi and Girardi & Keese].

The Court, therefore, grants summary judgement in favor of defendant Erika Girardi.

Borges told the outlet on Tuesday that the ruling is “critical” because it is the “first time that a Court of law has looked at ALL the supposed evidence against Erika, and the Court found in Erika’s favor.” However, the plaintiffs’ attorney, Ronald Richards, told the outlet that his clients want to appeal the decision. EJ Global is still identified as a defendant, even though Jayne has been dismissed, it may become moot.

Because it is the truth, the Court concluded that there is NO EVIDENCE of any knowledge on Erika’s part of any wrongdoing by Tom Girardi or Girardi Keese, and NO EVIDENCE of Erika’s participation in any wrongdoing.

The bankruptcy trustee still has the more important and easier to prove claims. Both EJ‘s company and David Lira will be defendants at the trial and Erika Girardi has been ordered to appear personally for trial via a subpoena.

No one is ever gonna win every motion on every count but that doesn’t mean you don’t take discovery or try to prove them and there’s nothing wrong with a difference of legal opinion between a litigant and the court.

Jayne accused Richards and his clients of trying to “extort” her with this lawsuit in May, and she has now triumphed. To get the latest updates, keep an eye on Thirsty.

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