A former client of Tom Girardi has suggested he could have sabotaged her court case in order to get his wife, Erika Jayne, cast on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Recently on #No Filter With Zack Peter, Daena Smoller told how she had hired Tom to help her and her late partner Larry Montz in a lawsuit against NBC Universal Media and Universal Television Network.
NBC owns Bravo, the network which broadcasts the Real Housewives franchise.
It was explained that Daena hired Tom’s firm to take over for a female attorney who was unable to continue her work on the case.
“We were guided to Tom Girardi. I didn’t really know who any of the attorneys in L.A. were,” Daena said on the podcast.
“Larry speaks to him first and Tom Girardi let him know that he was on his own private plane. He was boarding his plane. So, of course, I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s cool. That must be a good sign,’” she shared.
Tom reportedly told Larry that he was not afraid of a case against a major network, and was okay with taking on NBC.
“[He said], ‘I’m not afraid of anybody and I’ve sued everybody in Hollywood and I’ve never lost a case,’” Daena claimed Tom boasted during their conversation.
Daena said she was hopeful Tom would help
Daena and Larry were hopeful to prove they had a copyright on a show they crafted titled Ghost Expeditions: Haunted.
They claimed the network stole the idea from them and turned it into Ghost Hunters.
According to Daena, she and Larry were told that if they could prove their case they would win. However her proof was called “weak” by the firm who claimed the duo’s former lawyer filed incorrect paperwork.
Tom’s law firm stopped taking their calls
As the case prepared to go to trial, Tom’s law firm allegedly stopped taking the duo’s calls.
“They refused to talk to us about it. We called them about it so many times, we sent them so many emails. We sent them faxes, everything. They [did] stuff without telling us ahead of time and they never kept us in the loop… [with] different hearings,” she explained.
Deana and Larry’s lawsuit was dismissed in April 2014 due to a technicality. The documentation arrived at the court on time, but it was stamped two days later, therefore it was considered late.
Erika Jayne began filming Real Housewives of Beverly Hills the next year, in 2015.
“So it’s just very interesting that our case is tossed on something so stupid, and so not legitimate,” Deana added. “And it’s like, was that supposed to work to Tom Girardi’s benefit to help his wife? When our case totally goes away, and what we’re told by Girardi & Keese is, ‘You have no options. You’re done.’
“And Tom was kind enough to leave us a voicemail months earlier… ‘You’re toast. You’re toast’… which I saved. So it goes away totally on April 1 of 2014, and she’s in the next season.”
Tom and Erika announced last November that they were divorcing after 21 years of marriage. He is currently facing several lawsuits. Last month it emerged the couple’s mansion was burglarized days before his brother was granted temporary conservatorship over him amid claims he is suffering memory loss.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is currently on hiatus.