Uh-oh, is it time for Tom Girardi to go to this room and be quiet? Erika Girardi‘s powerhouse attorney of a husband has been sued in federal court over accusations that he swindled his clients out of their share of $130 million dollars in settlement money!
According to court documents, the Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star’s husband and his partner Robert Finnerty, of the law firm Girardi-Keese, are accused of defrauding claimants from a settlement won against Lockheed Martin.
Former client Paul Kranich is seeking $50 million dollars after alleging that Tom misused money that was awarded to him and former co-workers after they successfully sued Lockheed for exposing employees to harmful chemicals. (Note: To my knowledge no other claimants from that class-action suit have filed suits against Tom or his firm).
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Mr. Kranich is complaining that Tom and other attorneys from his firm “swindled” plaintiffs by not paying them the full settlement amount each was owed. Instead, Tom and co. spent money for personal and other unrelated business expenses, but misrepresented to plaintiffs where their money was going. Yikes!
In 2001, Tom and his partners represented Lockheed Martin employees in a class action suit. The plaintiffs won over $130 million dollars as a result of Girardi-Keese’s representation, yet Mr. Kranich attests that since the settlement was awarded, plaintiffs, including himself, have endured several legal issues with Tom and his firm when it came to getting their money. So Erin Brockovich didn’t show up at their house with a big fat check and a supportive smile? I kid! – Erin Brockovich dose not work for Tom anymore, had no involvement in the Lockheed case, nor is she implicated in this lawsuit.
Mr. Kranich‘s suit contends that Tom and other attorneys knowingly conspired to commit “criminal fraud, theft, and breach of trust” and “participated in and aided and abetted a scheme to defraud their clients by charging excessive fees and costs and fraudulently converting settlement proceeds to which Plaintiff and other clients.”
In fact, while the case was litigating against Lockheed, Kranich claims he discovered Tom prematurely spent settlement funds for “improper purposes” – meaning supposedly Tom wasn’t spending the money on the case, but for personal reasons, yet purportedly lied.
Outlined in court documents. Kranich states Tom made six-figure payments to clients represented in separate cases, as well as used money for “personal and unreleased business debts.”
Per the court papers, as reported by The Daily Mail, Tom spent:
“$250,000 to an aviation company owned by Girardi, $100,000 to a man believed to be Girardi’s divorce attorney – he has two ex wives, $350,000 to Western Bank for ‘fees’, $50 to an associate at the firm who never worked on the Lockheed case, $1 million to ‘Global Client Payments’ and allegedly more than $827,000 to ‘Lockheed Litigation’ plaintiffs – and even a $500,000 payment on a real estate escrow in which Giradi was involved and was unrelated to the Lockheed litigation.” I don’t see Erika Jayne‘s glam squad, tour bus, or see-through catsuit listed on those expense reports. LOL
Kranich also claims Tom reportedly charged him a contingency fee of 40% of gross proceeds, despite previously agreeing to accept only one-third in fees from many of the settlements.
Tom, an extremely well-known attorney, has represented several class-action suits of this nature, winning billions for clients. Tom and the other attorneys implicated in Mr. Kranich‘s suit have filed a motion to dismiss. A hearing is set for 5/2/16.
So, uhhhh… do we think this will be part of Erika’s storyline next season?
TELL US – DO YOU BELIEVE TOM DEFRAUDED MR. KRANICH? OR DOES MR. KRANICH HAVE NO CASE?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
The post Erika Girardi’s Husband Tom Girardi Sued – Accused Of Defrauding Clients Out Of Millions! appeared first on Reality Tea.
from Reality Tea http://www.realitytea.com/2016/03/31/erika-girardis-husband-tom-girardi-sued-accused-defrauding-clients-millions/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=erika-girardis-husband-tom-girardi-sued-accused-defrauding-clients-millions
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