Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has filed a lawsuit against a former project manager, alleging that the manager and his attorneys wrongfully placed a $1.8 million lien on his former Malibu house.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the lawsuit, recently filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, by the music producer and his real estate company, Shore Drive Holdings, LLC, accuses Anthony Saxon Netelkos (also known as Tony Saxon) and law firm West Coast Trial Lawyers,
of “wrongfully” placing an “invalid” lien on the property “while simultaneously launching an aggressive publicity campaign designed to pressure Ye, chill prospective transactions, and extract payment on disputed claims already being litigated in court.”Saxon, who was once Ye’s security guard and caretaker at the Malibu property, took the rapper to Los Angeles Superior Court in September 2023, accusing him of committing several labor violations, nonpayment of services, and disability discrimination.
In a November 2023 response to the
lawsuit, Ye disputed Saxon’s allegations. In December 2023, the property, which Ye purchased for $57.3 million in 2021, was listed for sale. The following month, in January 2024, Saxon placed a $1.8-million “mechanics” lien on the property to ensure he would be compensated for the work he did as project manager and for construction-related services.After placing the lien on Ye’s property, Saxon and his attorneys “immediately” issued statements to the media.
In the lawsuit, a statement Saxon’s attorney, Ronald Zambrano, gave to Business Insider
at the time was cited.Zambrano told the media outlet, “If someone wants to buy Kanye’s Malibu home, they will have to deal with us first. That sale cannot happen without Tony getting paid first.”
“These statements were designed to create public pressure and to interfere with the Plaintiffs’ ability to sell and finance the Property by falsely conveying that Defendants held an adjudicated, enforceable right to block a transaction and divert sale proceeds,” the lawsuit stated.
Last year, the Los Angeles Superior Court granted Ye’s motion to release the lien from the bond and awarded the controversial fashion designer attorneys’ fees.
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