Erika Girardi’s legal team has responded to a previous motion claiming that theReal Housewives of Beverly Hillsstar wasrefusing to turn over “key documents"in a bankruptcy case facing her estranged husband,Tom Girardi, and his law firm, Girardi & Keese.
In addition to responding to the claims that she has not been cooperative, the reality star has requested that the court reconsider its decision to appoint attorney Ronald Richards as the special counsel to the trustee in the bankruptcy case, accusing him of making “false and inflammatory” statements about her on social media.
Erika, the new motion says, “is not a media fiction. She is a real person with rights, including the right to be treated fairly in these proceedings based on actual evidence and the law.”
Erika Girardi.Amy Sussman/Getty
“We are representing the Trustee on a limited basis relating to Erika Jayne,” Richards continued. “We only need to zealously pursue our client’s litigation objectives which is to find the money and recover it. Attacking the Trustee’s choice of counsel who is doing an effective job and working hard is a poorly designed strategy. The real issue is the large receivables to Erika Jayne and the money she is refusing to release or return, period.”
Attorneys for Erika did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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The motion included screenshots of Richards' many social media posts, including one that asserted that Erika’s estranged husband Tom “is basically legally dead.” (Tom has beendiagnosed with dementiaand late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. His younger brother, Robert, has been namedas a conservator over his person and estate.)
In a YouTube video, Richards also said he doesn’t “think [Erika’s] personality is consistent with compliance in a court setting.”
Erika and Tom Girardi.Steve Eichner/AP
Richards “has continued to harass Ms. Girardi publicly through extra-judicial statements, including social media, this new evidence should be considered and the Order granting Mr. Richards’s approval to act as special litigation should be vacated,” Erika’s lawyers claim in the new motion.
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Amid the bankruptcy and multiple lawsuits, Erika and Tom have also been accused ofusing their divorce to protect their money. Tom has not responded to any of the lawsuits in court.
source: people.com
