Embattled Erika Jayne Wins Legal Victory In $5 Million Aiding & Abetting Lawsuit
Erika Jayne finally has something to celebrate. Los Angeles Judge Richard Fruin found no evidence that the The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member had any involvement or “any wrongdoing,” in the $5 million lawsuit filed by two of her estranged husband Tom Girardi’s former colleagues attorneys Philip R. Sheldon and Robert P. Finn.
The two lawyers filed the lawsuit against Jayne in 2020, for allegedly “aiding and abetting” her 81-year-old former spouse and his shady business dealings.
According to court documents, on Monday, August 29, the judge ruled that there was no sufficient evidence that the former Chicago star had any “actual knowledge” of Girardi's alleged crimes.
“Listen, they did all the book at Girardi & Keese. They were in charge of all the ledgers … I didn’t do the invoices," Jayne expressed in her court deposition. “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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In the judge's verdict, he cited the plaintiffs themselves who stated that Jayne had “actual knowledge” of Girardi's alleged crimes. “The evidence is irrelevant,” Fruin said in the documents about citing that the Bravo star's “lavish and extravagant hobby funded by the spouses’ community property is not evidence of the ‘actual knowledge’ any breach of fiduciary duty."
“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 papers read. “The Court, therefore, grants summary judgement in favor of defendant Erika Girardi."
Jayne's lawyer Evan C. Borges said that the ruling was "critical" because it was 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.”
“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 attorney noted, adding he and Jayne are “gratified that based on a review of actual evidence by a court of law, Erika has been exonerated.”
Page Six was the first to obtain the court documents and exclusive comment from Borges.