“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne‘s estranged husband Thomas Girardi’s alleged memory loss is being questioned by one of his many creditors who wants their money.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, the law firm Edelson PC, who is suing lawyer Thomas in federal court, filed an opposition in his involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy. At the moment, Erika’s husband is facing a ton of legal issues and accusations that he is refusing to pay a ton of bills.
Earlier this year, Thomas and Erika were hit with a massive lawsuit accusing them of embezzlement. The suit, brought by Edelson PC, says the once-respected LA lawyer represented a ton of families of plane crash victims.
Thomas secured a settlement for the widows and orphans who lost their loved ones. However, the firm says Thomas failed to pay out the entire settlement amount and instead diverted funds to fund his lavish lifestyle.
The suit claims Erika was aware of should have been aware of Thomas’s activities. Further, they claim the divorce she filed this year is a “sham.” The plaintiffs say Erika most likely filed the divorce meant to hide assets from their creditors.
In the divorce, Erika is also asking for spousal support and Thomas is fighting the request. Months later, Thomas was forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy by his creditors.
The judge signed off on the bankruptcy brought by Thomas’s former law firm partner (who claims to be owed over a million) along with other former partners. As The Blast previously reported, Thomas’s brother Robert filed a declaration in the bankruptcy case. Robert is asking to be appointed a conservator for Thomas.
Robert claims his brother suffers from short-term memory loss and needs someone to manage his life. He says Thomas, “is incapable of realizing and understanding the repercussions of the bankruptcy filings pending against him and the Debtor. Furthermore, the TG is not capable of making rational decisions with respect to his or the Debtor’s financial responsibilities.”
In his declaration, he wrote, “I have attempted to discuss with my brother how to best respond to the Involuntary Petitions pending against the Debtor and while at times he appears to be aware of the filing of the Involuntary Petitions he needs to be reminded often.” He added, “My brother is incapable of realizing and understanding” the seriousness of the case. “Furthermore, my brother is not capable of making rational decisions with respect to his financial responsibilities and offers solutions and opinions that are factually impossible.”
Now, Edelson PC is opposing the appointment of Robert. They claim Thomas did not have any issues with his memory earlier this year.
They write, “Evidence of Mr. Girardi’s conduct over the last several months makes clear that he is not incompetent. In mid-October of 2020, for instance, Mr. Girardi sat for an interview” where he spoke about a variety of issues.
They say, Thomas, “has a command of the facts and can remember events from both the recent and distant past. Moreover, Mr. Girardi’s fluency with litigation matters undermines the movant’s contention that Mr. Girardi is unable to appreciate the bankruptcy proceeding or assist lawyers.”
The firm went for his throat writing, “In hindsight, it became clear to us that Mr. Girardi was engaged in a sophisticated scheme to use client funds for improper purposes, such as to pay off his own creditors.”
They added, “His communications with us in the months before we filed our show cause motion were calculated to further that scheme.”
The motion ended, “He regularly demonstrated a command of the facts, and when we inquired about when our clients would receive their settlement monies, he regularly provided enough assurances to convince us that more drastic action was unnecessary, but remained general enough to avoid committing himself to any course of action. I take from these conversations that Mr. Girardi was well aware of what he was doing, and that it was wrong.”
