Erika Jayne’s Legal Team ‘Actively Talking’ To Investigative Lawyer To Negotiate A Settlement Deal In $25 Million Lawsuit!
Ronald Richards is working to negotiate a settlement deal with the legal team representing Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, Erika Jayne. Richards has publicly pushed the reality star to repay the $25 million that was allegedly funneled into her business from her estranged ex, Tom Girardi’s law firm.
Richards, the lawyer hired by the trustee overseeing Tom’s bankruptcy case, has confirmed to Us Weekly that he has been “actively talking” to the reality star’s attorneys about settling the ongoing lawsuit.
Richards presented his first settlement offer on September 8, after the RHOBH lashed out at the attorney for sharing some facts uncovered in the unfolding case.
Erika fired off a tweet at Richards writing—“@RonaldRichards
YOU need Lexapro Talk about unraveling…” which prompted Richards to respond with a settlement offer.
“Obviously, she is taking too much of it….. Here is our offer: For each $100k she voluntarily returns of the $25M of her personal expenses that were paid by GK, we will add 10% if returned within ten days,” the legal eagle tweeted, in response.
“I gave her a week to just voluntarily return the money, but she never did,” Richards told the outlet on Friday, October 1. “I can’t get into the settlement discussion, but we are trying to resolve the case with her attorney. This is the $25 million that [Girardi’s] law firm paid on behalf of Erika to cover her expenses over a 12-year period.”
The lawyer repping Erika confirmed that he had heard from Richards’ legal team.
“Regarding settlement discussions, those are supposed to be confidential between counsel,” Evan C. Borges told Us Weekly in a statement on Sunday, October 3. “It appears that my opposing counsel Mr. Richards has been discussing publicly what he calls settlement discussions. Here’s the truth: Mr. Richards has reached out and told me that he and the trustee want to settle. I have listened and will continue to listen. That’s it.”
Borges contends that Erika is not legally required to pay back the cash.
“I can’t say enough that based on the evidence and law, Erika does not have liability for any of the claims against her,” he added. “All the claims against Erika amount to efforts to blame her for the actions of others, including Girardi Keese and Tom Girardi.”
Richards hopes that Erika won’t be forced to “waste any more money on legal fees or whoever is paying the fees.”
“I would rather have her pay the victims than her lawyers,” he added.
Richards also addressed the possibility of Erika filing for bankruptcy.
“She absolutely can file for bankruptcy, but I don’t think she would want to do that,” Richards explained. “No one is pressuring her, and there is no reason for her to do that.”
Erika is embroiled in a $25 million lawsuit that alleges that she had knowledge that Tom’s firm, Girardi Keese, had been paying her bills for at least 12 years. The trustee overseeing the case wants the “Pretty Mess” personality to repay the amount to the firm.
“It would be a miscarriage of justice if [she] was allowed to simply walk completely free of owing over $25,000,000 to the estate,” legal documents state.
Erika filed for divorce from the disgraced lawyer in November and has maintained that she had no knowledge of Tom’s shady financial dealings.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Wednesdays at 8 pm, ET, on Bravo.
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