A Los Angeles judge has ruled that Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne can be sued over $11 million in debt her estranged husband Tom Girardi owes to three former clients.
Joseph, Jaime and Kathleen Ruigomez are owed $11 million by Girardi, 82, following a judgment last year, People reported Wednesday after reviewing court documents.
The judge in the ongoing case had earlier put a stay on collections on the assets of Girardi and his firm Girardi Keese, which remains under a trustee probe after Girardi's bankruptcy filing last year.
The latest: A Los Angeles judge has ruled that Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, 49, can be sued over $11 million in debt her estranged husband Tom Girardi owes to three former clients
The Atlanta-born reality star, 49, and her businesses were linked to a $20 million transfer from her estranged husband's firm, according to a special litigation counsel for the trustee, leading the judge to clear a path for the clients to file suit against the Bravo personality.
The court said that 'all assets identified by the Ruigomez family shall be subject to all rights of the Girardi bankruptcy estate and the [Girardi Keese] bankruptcy estate, which parties shall meet and confer in good faith to determine the character/ownership of the identified assets.
'The Ruigomez Family, the Girardi Trustee and the GK Trustee shall cooperate with each other with their collection efforts against Erika.'
The travails of the Ruigomez family in the case were documented in the Hulu doc The Housewife and the Hustler last month, as Joe Ruigomez and his relatives claimed Giriardi illegally kept settlement money in the case awarded in 2013.
Legal woes: Jayne has reportedly switched lawyers in an ongoing chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to documents obtained by Us Weekly on Tuesday
The Atlanta-born reality star, 49, and her businesses were linked to a $20 million transfer from her estranged husband's firm, according to a special litigation counsel for the trustee
Joe's sister Jamie said that while their family believed Girardi 'could win' their case over injuries Joe suffered in the September 2010 gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, California, but 'didn't know how much of a snake he would be along the way.'
Joe Ruigomez said that Girardi said he would invest their payout and disperse money on a monthly basis, but was often elusive and vague regarding questions from the family, adding that the family filed a suit after Girardi ceased making any payments in 2017.
The family said that Girardi last year agreed to pay the family out $12 million in installments, but never coughed up more than an initial $1 million payment.
Jayne has reportedly switched lawyers in an ongoing chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to documents obtained by Us Weekly on Tuesday.
Details: Jayne is also accused of using her companies to conceal her assets
Accusations: Erika's estranged husband Tom and his former law firm, Girardi & Keese, filed for bankruptcy last year, after they were sued for allegedly embezzling client settlement money
Her attorney, Peter
