‘RHOC’ Vicki Gunvalson Moves To Have Elder Abuse Lawsuit Tossed

Vicki Gunvalson remains adamant that she's innocent in the financial elder abuse lawsuit against her.

The "Real Housewives of Orange County" star recently petitioned the court to dismiss the case, stressing that she did right by the plaintiff. Diane Field, a client, sued her and her insurance company for fraud and poor financial advice.

This lawsuit marks the second time Vicki Gunvalson has been sued by a client for fraudulent activities; however, the 2018 case was dismissed.

According to new court documents, Gunvalson and her insurance company, Coto Insurance and Financial Services, denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

They moved to dismiss the financial elder abuse lawsuit, blaming the plaintiff for her grievances. In the motion for dismissal, Gunvalson's attorney argued:

"[Diane] knew, or in the exercise of ordinary care should have known, of the risk and hazards involved in the undertaking in which they engaged."

"But nevertheless and with full knowledge of these things, did fully and voluntarily consent to assume the risks and hazards involved in the undertaking," the argument continued, noting the claims were barred because Field failed to use "due diligence."

The documents obtained by In Touch further claimed Field was "careless and negligent with respect to the matters alleged in the" lawsuit. On that note, Gunvalson implored the court to dismiss the case and not award the plaintiff any money.

The TV personality's motion for dismissal comes a month after she addressed the lawsuit through her legal reps. The Blast reported that Gunvalson's attorneys vehemently denied the allegations, citing her decades of experience as an insurance broker.

They claimed she had "helped more than 7,000 clients" and attempted to do the same with Field. They seemingly implied that Gunvalson acted on the woman's orders and not her own, saying:

"Ms. Gunvalson followed the direction of her client, Diane Field, in placing the insurance products Ms. Field requested regarding the annuities and the life insurance policy."

Gunvalson's lawyers stressed that she did not engage in any conduct that could be considered financial elder abuse, breach of fiduciary duty, or fraud. They claimed she always upheld the "highest standards of integrity and transparency" in her financial dealings.

The plaintiff claimed she met Gunvalson and her partner Ali in 2019 when they convinced her to transfer her money from stocks into annuities. Field noted they reassured her that her funds were safe with Allianz 222 Annuity.

They allegedly promised Field that her income taxes would go lower if she invested and her kids would be financially secure after her death. Taking their word, the older woman took out an insurance policy to cover her $6 million net worth.

However, the life insurance policy did not reflect Ali's initial claim of a one-time payment of $300,000. Instead, she discovered that she would make an annual payment of $300,000, eventually leading to significant losses.

Field alleged that Gunvalson and Ali used misrepresentations and other fraudulent acts and omissions to deceive her into making harmful financial decisions. She argued that they breached their financial duties by putting their selfish interests ahead of hers.

The aggrieved client is the second person to sue Gunvalson for fraudulent activities. In 2018, Joan Lile slammed the "RHOC" star for a fraudulent life insurance policy. At the time, she defended herself as an upright businesswoman.

Gunvalson's attorney noted that she maintained the utmost "truthfulness and integrity" in every transaction and had never misrepresented business policy terms or engaged in fraudulent conduct. Their arguments convinced the judge, and the case was eventually dismissed.

Days earlier, The Blast reported that Gunvalson had bigger problems than her financial elder abuse lawsuit with the wildfire in California. Her 4,620-square-foot pad in Coto de Caza was in the voluntary evacuation area.

Although the area marked homes that may need to evacuate amid the growing fire, sources close to Gunvalson claimed she did not need to leave her three-bedroom, three-bathroom home despite the threat.

The Airport Fire started on Monday afternoon in Orange County and reportedly spread over 22,000 acres by Tuesday. Thousands of homes were in danger, and over 11,000 people had been evacuated.

The Orange County Fire Authority Incident Captain, Paul Holaday, announced at a news conference that the fire was accidentally caused "by heavy equipment working in the areas of the RC Airport."

From wildfires to a financial elder abuse lawsuit, what else does the rest of the year have in store for Vicki Gunvalson?