Ex-Pump employee sues Vanderpump Rules' Lisa Vanderpump and husband Ken Todd over $490K wage dispute
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA: Lisa Vanderpump and her husband Ken Todd have landed in some legal trouble once again.
The 'Vanderpump Rules' star and her partner Todd have been accused of refusing to pay a $490K settlement by an ex-Pump employee.
The former employee Ernest R Bennick, sued Lisa and her husband in August 2020 after they failed to pay overtime wages, as per a report by The US Sun.
Now, the new documents obtained by the media outlet have claimed that the duo has reportedly still not paid the settlement money to their former employee.
In August 2023, Bennick filed a motion against Lisa and Todd for preliminary approval of the gross settlement amount of $490,000.
On October 23, the defendant's lawyer reported;y filed a response regarding the settlement agreement on behalf of Lisa and Todd.
He mentioned, "The Company does not intend to perform the terms of the mediated settlement agreement, but would be willing to discuss alternatives with Plaintiff’s counsel."
Their attorney also stated that "the Company is working through and re-negotiating several hundred thousand dollars in unpaid rent and vendor invoices as part of the wind-down process."
On October 30, the plaintiff called out Lisa and Todd and slammed their multiple "false" and "self-serving" claims including that Pump has "no assets remaining."
However, it seems like Lisa and Todd are unbothered by the lawsuit as they focus on the launch of their new Las Vegas restaurant called Pinky's which is set to open in summer 2024 at Flamingo Las Vegas.
Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd sued for $1 million by Pump restaurant landlords in August 2023
Earlier this year in August, Lisa and Todd were sued for $1 million for allegedly breaching his rental contract with the landlords of the couple’s now-shuttered West Hollywood restaurant Pump, as per Page Six.
Not long ago, the couple shared that they'd be closing Pump as they were having issues with the landlords.
They have breached the rental contract with the Pump owners.
It has been revealed that Ken breached his contract in many ways, mainly through unpaid rent.
According to the legal documents acquired, Ken has also withheld returning Pump's liquor license which makes it impossible for new tenants to take over the restaurant space and open something new.
Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd hit with 2 lawsuits for not paying wages to Pump restaurant employees in 2020
In the past, Lisa and Todd have faced similar lawsuits. They were reportedly hit with not one but two lawsuits for not paying wages to Pump employees in 2020.
In January 2020, former SUR employee Adam Pierce Antoine alleged that the pair were not paying wages, as per The US Sun.
A couple of months later, an employee named Olivia Beverly Hanson reportedly filed a class action lawsuit against the pair for similar reasons.
Both the lawsuits claimed that the pair allegedly didn't pay wages to their employees.
Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd accused of breaking several California labor laws in 2020
In 2020, Lisa and Todd were accused of breaking many California labor laws.
Then, they were accused of failing to pay overtime wages to their employees.
The documents stated, "For at least four years prior to the filing of this action and continuing to present, defendants have had a policy or practice of failing to pay overtime wages to Plaintiff and other non-exempt employees," as per US Magazine.
The documents further claimed employees, “routinely [worked] over eight hours per day, 40 hours per week and seven consecutive work days in a workweek without being properly compensated for hours worked in excess.”
The legal papers also claimed that Lisa, Todd, and their partners, Guillermo Zapata, and Nathalie Pouille-Zapata, failed to “accurately track and/or pay for all hours actually worked.”
They allegedly manipulated or edited “time records to show lesser hours than actually worked during the pay period, to the detriment of Plaintiff and other situated employees.”