Dwight Howard Slapped With Lawsuit From Butler After NBA Star Accuses Him of Stealing $250k Engagement Ring

Will Dwight Howard be in court sometime soon?

According to legal documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, the NBA star was hit with a lawsuit from his former butler Louis Pellegrino, who claimed Howard accused him of stealing a $250k engagement ring. He also said he was never paid proper wages.

The suit stated that Pellegrino began working for the basketball player in January 2020 and was "tasked with providing butler/concierge, security, shopping, car/property maintenance, shipping, pet-care, and pool duties, as well as other personal duties and assignments from Howard and Estate guests."

He added that he also took on some "menial tasks" such as serving food and retrieving items for guests. At the start, he and Howard allegedly agreed that he would be paid $750 per week during a probationary period and he would later receive $80k annually.

"Howard routinely praised Pellegrino for excellent professional performance and being a 'jack-of-all-trade' — referring to the multitude of butler/concierge services Pellegrino provided at the Estate," the paperwork detailed.

Pellegrino also alleged he was "forced to remain at the Estate 24 hours, 7 days per week, except when Pellegrino left the Estate to perform other duties for 12-Bray and Howard, including, but not limited to, shopping, car maintenance, and/or shipping items for Howard. Therefore, Pellegrino worked approximately 20 hours per day and 140 hours per week."

Things eventually took a turn, as Pellegrino claimed Howard created a "hostile" work environment after he became upset that the butler was friends with his ex-girlfriend Melissa Rios.

According to the suit, "Howard began to target and blame Pellegrino for any and all incidents occurring at the Estate."

"Without cause or justification, Howard falsely accused Pellegrino of theft," the court documents noted, mentioning that Pellegrino was meant to retrieve the engagement ring from a Rolls Royce Cullinan and get it repaired.

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When Pellegrino could not find the ring in the car, he told Howard, who suggested to look in his room — to which Pellegrino had no success.

Pellegrino alleged that Howard put the blame on him for the missing ring rather than filing an insurance claim for the lost item. He was then terminated on January 26, 2022.

Howard requested the case be dismissed, however, the case is ongoing.