Kanye West ordered to pay former contractor $140,000 over Malibu mansion lawsuit

A assemblage recovered Ye, the arguable euphony impresario formerly known arsenic Kanye West, liable successful the ineligible quality brought by his erstwhile contractor and ordered him to wage $140,000.

Tony Saxon, who besides worked arsenic Ye’s information defender and caretaker astatine the Malibu property, sued the rapper successful Los Angeles Superior Court successful September 2023, claiming a slate of labour violations, nonpayment of services and disablement discrimination.

The $140,000 judgement announced Wednesday is acold little than the $1.7 cardinal successful damages that Saxon’s lawyers had primitively requested. Ye volition besides person to wage for Saxon’s ineligible fees, which is expected to enactment the full sum that West volition person to wage astatine much than $1 million.

Although Saxon’s attorneys astatine the Los Angeles-based steadfast West Coast Trial Lawyers called the verdict a “mixed” one, they characterized it arsenic as a”vindication for our client.”

“Ye’s lawyers called him a liar, a fraud, and a malingerer successful court. His aesculapian records, slope records, and idiosyncratic household past were dissected, mocked, and vilified,” said Ronald Zambrano successful a statement.

“In existent David-vs.-Goliath fashion, Mr. Saxon stood steadfast against 1 of the biggest celebrities successful the world, with the information connected his side,” Zambrano said.

Saxon alleged that portion moving arsenic a information defender connected the property, helium was forced to slumber connected the level and was fired successful November 2021 for failing to comply with Ye’s “dangerous requests.” He besides said that helium often complained to West astir these and different issues, but that the rapper failed to code them.

Ye purchased the beachfront factual mansion successful 2021— 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 hip-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.

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

In January, Ye sued Saxon and his instrumentality steadfast implicit a $1.8 cardinal lien placed connected the Malibu Mansion, alleging they “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.”

The Malibu mansion that Ye purchased and gutted was aboriginal purchased and restored to its archetypal design. down plans to reconstruct the location to its archetypal design.

(The Oppenheim Group/Roger Davies)

That lawsuit is pending.

In caller years, the mercurial superstar has look a fig of nationalist and ineligible dramas.

In 2022, Ye 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.