Ye’s legal team filed a motion with the Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brock T. Hammond, seeking to block a $1.2 million attorney fee bill from the handyman lawsuit he already lost in March. The team contends that the handyman Tony Saxon’s $1.23 million fee request is unreasonable and should be rejected outright. If the judge rejects the motion, Ye’s attorneys intend to slash the amount to $59,425. This situation originated when a jury verdict in March ordered Ye to pay Saxon $140,000 after the handyman claimed he received shorted compensation while managing construction at Ye’s Malibu oceanfront estate. Prior to this, Saxon stated Ye hired him at $20,000 per week to oversee renovations and security for the $57 million mansion. When Saxon refused to perform dangerous construction work, Ye allegedly told him, ‘If you don’t do what I say, you’re not going to work for me, I’m not gonna be your friend anymore, and you’ll just see me on TV.’ Saxon’s response was that he didn’t watch TV. Ye fired him on the spot. Now, Saxon’s lawyers are seeking legal fees that dwarf the actual damages, which is where things are heated. Saxen originally sought $1.7 million but the jury sided with him on only one claim, awarding him $100,000 for medical expenses and $40,000 for pain and suffering. Ye’s defense team is hammering the point that Saxon lost on 12 of 13 causes of action at trial, suggesting the handyman’s legal team essentially struck out on most of the case. They are calling the fee request an ‘unreasonably inflated cash grab’ that doesn’t match the actual result of the case, and urging the judge to reject the motion. Meanwhile, West Coast Trial Lawyers, representing Saxon’s attorneys, are arguing that hundreds of hours were spent defending the case, risking over $300,000 in expenses against a powerful celebrity defendant, who denied liability.
Source: AllHipHop
