Kanye West sues ex-employee over Malibu mansion lien

Kanye West, the rapper present known arsenic Ye, is suing his erstwhile task manager and his lawyers, alleging they wrongfully enactment a $1.8 cardinal lien connected his erstwhile Malibu mansion.

The suit, filed successful Los Angeles Superior Court connected Thursday, alleges that Tony Saxon, Ye’s erstwhile task manager connected the property, and the instrumentality steadfast West Coast Trial Lawyers, “wrongfully” placed an “invalid” lien connected the spot “while simultaneously launching an assertive publicity run designed to unit Ye, chill prospective transactions, and extract outgo connected disputed claims already being litigated successful court.”

Saxon’s lawyers were not instantly disposable for comment.

Saxon, who was besides employed arsenic West’s information defender and caretaker astatine the Malibu property, sued the arguable rapper successful Los Angeles Superior Court successful Sept. 2023, claiming a slate of labour violations, nonpayment of services and disablement discrimination.

In Jan. 2024, Saxon placed the $1.8 cardinal “mechanics” lien connected the spot successful bid to unafraid compensation for his enactment arsenic task manager and construction-related services, according to tribunal filings.

A mechanics lien, besides referred to arsenic a contractor’s lien, is usually filed by an unpaid contractor, laborer oregon supplier, arsenic a clasp against the property. If the enactment remains unpaid, it tin punctual a foreclosure merchantability of the spot to unafraid compensation.

Ye has denied Saxon’s allegations. In a Nov. 2023 effect to the complaint, Ye disputed that Saxon “has sustained immoderate injury, damage, oregon nonaccomplishment by crushed of immoderate act, omission oregon breach by Defendant.”

According to Ye’s caller complaint, helium listed the spot for merchantability successful December 2023. A period later, helium alleged, Saxon and his attorneys recorded the lien and “immediately” issued statements to the media.

The suit cites a connection Saxon’s attorney, Ronald Zambrano, made to Business Insider: “If idiosyncratic wants to bargain Kanye’s Malibu home, they volition person to woody with america first. That merchantability cannot hap without Tony getting paid first.”

“These statements were designed to make nationalist unit and to interfere with the Plaintiffs’ quality to merchantability and concern the Property by falsely conveying that Defendants held an adjudicated, enforceable close to artifact a transaction and divert merchantability proceeds,” the ailment states.

The filing contends that past twelvemonth the Los Angeles Superior Court granted Ye’s question to merchandise the lien from the enslaved and awarded him attorneys fees.

The Malibu property’s abbreviated beingness has a agelong past of ineligible and fiscal drama.

In 2021, West purchased the beachfront factual mansion — designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese designer Tadao Ando — for $57.3 million. He past gutted the spot connected Malibu Road, reportedly saying “This is going to beryllium my weaponry shelter. This is going to beryllium my Batcave.”

Three years later, the hep hop prima sold the unfinished mansion (he had removed the windows, doors, energy and plumbing and broke down walls), astatine a important nonaccomplishment to developer Steven Belmont’s Belwood Investments for $21 million.

Belmont, who spent much wealth to renovate the home, had spent 3 years successful situation aft being charged with attempted execution for a pitchfork onslaught successful Napa County. He promised to reconstruct the architectural jewel to its erstwhile glory.

However, the spot has been mired successful assorted ineligible and fiscal entanglements including foreclosure threats.

Last August, the notorious mansion was erstwhile again enactment connected the marketplace with a $4.1 cardinal terms chopped aft a erstwhile connection reportedly fell through, according to Realtor.com.

The ineligible conflict surrounding Ye’s erstwhile Malibu pad is the latest successful a bid of nationalist and ineligible dramas that the euphony impresario has been progressive successful caller years.

In 2022, the mercurial superstar mislaid galore lucrative partnerships with companies similar Adidas and the Gap, pursuing a raft of antisemitic statements, including declaring himself a Nazi connected X (which helium aboriginal recanted).

Two years later, Ye abruptly unopen down Donda Academy, the troubled backstage schoolhouse helium founded successful 2020.

Ye, the schoolhouse and immoderate of his affiliated businesses faced faced aggregate lawsuits from erstwhile employees and educators, alleging they were victims of wrongful termination, a hostile enactment situation and different claims.

In tribunal filings, Ye has denied each of the claims made against him by erstwhile employees and educators astatine Donda.

Several of those suits person been settled.