Kanye West Wins Small Verdict in Malibu Lawsuit

Kanye West Wins Small Verdict in Malibu Lawsuit

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 and his team are taking a victory lap after a jury awarded a contractor suing him $140,000 - 'a small fraction' of the $1.7 million he had been seeking with the litigation.

West's spokesperson Milo Yiannopoulos told the Daily Mail in a statement that the contractor, Tony Saxon, recovered 'only a small fraction of what his lawyers demanded' with the $140,000 - after asking the jury for 'approximately $1.7 million.'

Yiannopoulos said the jury rejected almost all of [Saxon's] claims in the case, which saw both West and his spouse take the stand to testify.

'Although the jury found that Saxon qualified as an employee for certain purposes,' he said, 'they awarded no damages for lost wages, overtime, waiting-time penalties, retaliation, punitive damages, or any other statutory penalties.

'The only damages awarded were $140,000 related to Saxon’s claim that he was injured while working on the property.'

West Coast Trial Lawyers attorney Neama Rahmani told the Daily Mail Wednesday that his client was 'relieved' and 'vindicated' as the case drew to a close.

Kanye West and his team are taking a victory lap after a jury awarded a contractor suing him $140,000 - 'a small fraction' of the $1.7 million he had been seeking. Pictured in LA last year 

A spokesperson for West told the Daily Mail in a statement that contractor Tony Saxon (pictured) recovered 'only a small fraction of what his lawyers demanded' with the $140,000 - after asking the jury for 'approximately $1.7 million'

The verdict handed down to West on Wednesday was split into $100,000 for Saxon's medical expenses, past and present; and $40,000 for past pain and suffering, Rolling Stone reported after reviewing the court ruling.

The legal dispute stemmed from an initial arrangement that West and Saxon reached in September 2021, as the rapper was looking to make changes to a Malibu mansion he purchased for more than $57 million 

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West's spokesperson said the rapper and his team remain confident they would recoup monies awarded in Wednesday's judgment down the line 

Saxon said in his legal filing that things between him and two months into the endeavor, in November 2021.

The contractor told the court he voiced his opposition to a number of requests West made regarding the renovation of the home 

West had not been acting in 'malice, oppression, or fraud' in firing Saxon from the construction project, which was not a wrongful termination, the jury ruled, according to legal docs 

While Saxon believed the home was more of an 'art project,' he later came to realize West actually wanted to reside there. 

West 'wanted no electricity,' Saxon said. 'He only wanted plants. He only wanted candles. He only wanted battery lights. And he just wanted to have everything open and dark.'

West denied all of the accusations in a November 2023 filing requesting that the lawsuit be dismissed.

Lawyers for the rapper said he was not responsible for the damages Saxon claimed to have suffered and that Saxon performed tasks he was unaware of. 

In a series of 2024 photos of the home, disrepair was visible: the floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the ocean had been removed, leaving that side open to the elements.

The inside of the house appeared to be crumbling and the metal railings were rusting after being exposed to the salt air, wind and water at the oceanfront location. 

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West's Malibu neighbors in 2024 told TMZ his mansion was 'left to rot' and that they had not 'seen anyone around for many months.' 

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