Erika Jayne is once again facing legal turbulence, and this time the spotlight has extended to include one of her closest friends.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star has been dealing with lingering fallout from an old dispute with Los Angeles designers Marco Morante and Christopher Psaila, the duo behind the fashion label Marco Marco. Years ago Erika accused them of improperly charging her American Express card for costumes they created.
The allegations upended their business and even led to Christopher’s arrest. Both designers say the ordeal cost them significantly, and they have been fighting back in court ever since.
Their legal strategy recently took a new turn when they filed a lawsuit against Erika’s longtime friend and attorney Jim Wilkes. In the complaint, they accused Wilkes of slowing down bankruptcy proceedings connected to Erika’s estranged husband, Tom Girardi. They also suggested that he tried to discourage anyone who questioned whether Erika had benefited from Girardi’s alleged financial misconduct.
In addition, they claimed he routed pandemic relief loans into Erika’s hands.
A Florida judge reviewed the filing and rejected it. According to Bloomberg Law, the judge said the complaint lacked basic details required for a federal case, such as the citizenship of each LLC member. The judge also criticized the lawsuit’s structure and said it was filled with vague statements that did not clearly tie to the legal claims. The court described the filing as relying on attention-grabbing language rather than specific facts.
Even though the lawsuit was dismissed the designers are allowed to revise and refile within 21 days.
