Earlier this week, a judge in California ruled that Michael Avenatti, lawyer to actress Stormy Daniels, must pay $4.85 million in back pay to an attorney who used to work for his former law firm. The ruling marks the “first time the potential presidential candidate is being held personally liable in the lawsuit over back pay.”
Earlier this week, a judge in California ruled that Michael Avenatti, lawyer to actress Stormy Daniels, must pay $4.85 million in back pay to an attorney who used to work for his former law firm. The ruling marks the “first time the potential presidential candidate is being held personally liable in the lawsuit over back pay.”
The ruling was issued by Judge Dennis Landin of the Los Angeles Superior Court because “he had personally guaranteed a settlement” with the plaintiff in the case, attorney Jason Frank. According to the suit, Frank claimed that Avenatti’s firm “misstated its profits and that he was owed millions of dollars.” Prior to filing the suit, Frank worked as an independent contractor at Avenatti’s former firm and was “supposed to collect 25 percent of its annual profits, along with 20 percent of fees his clients paid,” according to court documents. However, that didn’t happen, which prompted Frank to file the suit.
In recent years, Avenatti has made a name for himself as the lawyer representing Daniels in her suit against President Donald Trump “following an alleged 2006 affair.” While he did not appear at the “hearing and never filed arguments in the case,” in the past he claimed that it’s actually Frank that owes him and his former firm money, to the tune of $12 million “for his fraud.” However, he never disclosed details about his claim and it’s unclear “whether Avenatti has filed any litigation in the matter against Frank.” Frank’s attorney, Eric George, did push back against Avenatti’s claim, though, and said Frank “doesn’t owe Avenatti a dime.”
When commenting on the judge’s recent order, George said the ruling was a long time coming. He added that Avenatti has “managed to delay this for ages,” and said, “At the end of the day, this is money that’s owed. No matter how you try to spin it, it comes back to the fact that he took money, it wasn’t his and now there’s a judgment saying it’s owed to my client.”
Judge Dennis Landin’s ruling came on the heels of another court order against Avenatti’s former firm issued back in May by a U.S. Bankruptcy court judge. In that case, Avenatti’s firm was ordered to pay “$10 million to Frank” and is completely separate from the $4.85 million Judge Landin recently ordered.
To make matters worse for Avenatti, in July the Justice Department accused “Avenatti of making misrepresentations in the bankruptcy case and said his former law firm owed more than $440,000 in unpaid federal taxes.”
Sources:
Judge Orders Michael Avenatti to Pay $4.85 Million in Back Pay Lawsuit
Join the conversation!