Michael Avenatti hit with $4.85-million judgment for unpaid debt as court orders eviction of his law firm
Los Angeles Times - We are currently unavailable in your region
By Michael Finnegan and Javier Panzar
Oct 22, 2018 | 11:50 AM
A landlord says Eagan Avenatti, the longtime law firm of Michael Avenatti, right, has failed to pay more than $213,000 in rent for its office suite in Newport Beach. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for porn actress Stormy Daniels, was hit with a personal judgment of $4.85 million Monday for his failure to pay a debt to a former colleague at his longtime Newport Beach firm.
Less than an hour after his defeat in the Los Angeles lawsuit, the firm, Eagan Avenatti, suffered another setback at a trial in Santa Ana: The Irvine Co. won a court order evicting Avenatti and his staff from their suite at the Fashion Island mall for failing to pay the last four months of rent.
The twin blows came as Avenatti was heading to New Hampshire for his third visit to the state that kicks off the 2020 presidential primaries. He is exploring a run for the Democratic nomination, and his troubled financial history could emerge as a significant campaign issue if he joins the race.
The personal judgment against Avenatti by Judge Dennis J. Landin in Superior Court in Los Angeles is the latest in a series of courtroom losses for the celebrity lawyer in his protracted dispute with Jason Frank, the former colleague.
Eagan Avenatti emerged from federal bankruptcy protection in March after making promises to pay millions of dollars to Frank and other creditors, including the Internal Revenue Service.
Frank has also won a $10-million judgment against the firm.
“My client has had an awful lot of money owed to him for a lengthy period of time,” Frank’s attorney Eric George said, “and it has been delayed through one tactic or another. Today finally the right thing happened.”
Avenatti was the majority owner and managing partner of the firm for more than a decade.
He recently told a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge that his other firm, Avenatti & Associates, wholly owned by Avenatti, had acquired 100% of the equity in Eagan Avenatti.
But Avenatti told The Times on Monday that he hadn’t owned Eagan Avenatti for months. He did not name the new owner.
“Any judgment issued against me will be deducted from the over $12 million that Jason Frank owes me and my law firm Avenatti & Associates as a result of his fraud,” Avenatti said by email.
No court has found Frank engaged in fraud, and Avenatti is not pursuing any court case alleging that he did.
Avenatti & Associates is the firm representing Daniels in her litigation against President Trump. She is trying to void a nondisclosure agreement that bars her from discussing her alleged affair with Trump.
In the Santa Ana trial, 520 Newport Center Drive LLC, an arm of the Irvine Co., alleges Eagan Avenatti missed $213,254 in rent payments over the last four months for its ocean-view suite on the 14th floor of an office building at Fashion Island.
Nobody from Eagan Avenatti showed up for the trial.
In court papers, the firm claimed it deducted the cost of needed repairs from its rent payments but did not receive proper credit.
The landlord denied that the offices needed any serious repairs. And the lease, signed by Avenatti, says the tenant “understands that it shall not make repairs at landlord’s expense or by rental offset.”
In July, Eagan Avenatti paid the monthly rent of $52,235 but the check bounced, according to the landlord.
11:50 a.m.: This article was updated with background on Michael Avenatti exploring a run for president and the Stormy Daniels litigation against President Trump.
11:15 a.m.: This article was updated with comment from Michael Avenatti, background on Eagan Avenatti and the eviction judgment.
This article was originally published at 10:15 a.m.
Los Angeles Times - We are currently unavailable in your region
By Michael Finnegan and Javier Panzar
Oct 22, 2018 | 11:50 AM
A landlord says Eagan Avenatti, the longtime law firm of Michael Avenatti, right, has failed to pay more than $213,000 in rent for its office suite in Newport Beach. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for porn actress Stormy Daniels, was hit with a personal judgment of $4.85 million Monday for his failure to pay a debt to a former colleague at his longtime Newport Beach firm.
Less than an hour after his defeat in the Los Angeles lawsuit, the firm, Eagan Avenatti, suffered another setback at a trial in Santa Ana: The Irvine Co. won a court order evicting Avenatti and his staff from their suite at the Fashion Island mall for failing to pay the last four months of rent.
The twin blows came as Avenatti was heading to New Hampshire for his third visit to the state that kicks off the 2020 presidential primaries. He is exploring a run for the Democratic nomination, and his troubled financial history could emerge as a significant campaign issue if he joins the race.
The personal judgment against Avenatti by Judge Dennis J. Landin in Superior Court in Los Angeles is the latest in a series of courtroom losses for the celebrity lawyer in his protracted dispute with Jason Frank, the former colleague.
Eagan Avenatti emerged from federal bankruptcy protection in March after making promises to pay millions of dollars to Frank and other creditors, including the Internal Revenue Service.
Frank has also won a $10-million judgment against the firm.
“My client has had an awful lot of money owed to him for a lengthy period of time,” Frank’s attorney Eric George said, “and it has been delayed through one tactic or another. Today finally the right thing happened.”
Avenatti was the majority owner and managing partner of the firm for more than a decade.
He recently told a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge that his other firm, Avenatti & Associates, wholly owned by Avenatti, had acquired 100% of the equity in Eagan Avenatti.
But Avenatti told The Times on Monday that he hadn’t owned Eagan Avenatti for months. He did not name the new owner.
“Any judgment issued against me will be deducted from the over $12 million that Jason Frank owes me and my law firm Avenatti & Associates as a result of his fraud,” Avenatti said by email.
No court has found Frank engaged in fraud, and Avenatti is not pursuing any court case alleging that he did.
Avenatti & Associates is the firm representing Daniels in her litigation against President Trump. She is trying to void a nondisclosure agreement that bars her from discussing her alleged affair with Trump.
In the Santa Ana trial, 520 Newport Center Drive LLC, an arm of the Irvine Co., alleges Eagan Avenatti missed $213,254 in rent payments over the last four months for its ocean-view suite on the 14th floor of an office building at Fashion Island.
Nobody from Eagan Avenatti showed up for the trial.
In court papers, the firm claimed it deducted the cost of needed repairs from its rent payments but did not receive proper credit.
The landlord denied that the offices needed any serious repairs. And the lease, signed by Avenatti, says the tenant “understands that it shall not make repairs at landlord’s expense or by rental offset.”
In July, Eagan Avenatti paid the monthly rent of $52,235 but the check bounced, according to the landlord.
11:50 a.m.: This article was updated with background on Michael Avenatti exploring a run for president and the Stormy Daniels litigation against President Trump.
11:15 a.m.: This article was updated with comment from Michael Avenatti, background on Eagan Avenatti and the eviction judgment.
This article was originally published at 10:15 a.m.
dude turned out to be a total bum
