Remember back in early December when I told you that Jackie Beard Robinson was suing Andy Cohen and Melissa Gorga for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress after comments they made on Watch What Happens Live? Well we have a little bit of news.
I’ve actually read a real housewives contract before, and know some people who are quite familiar with the language so I can’t believe I totally forgot about arbitration. I got so caught up in the part of the contract that says the “can’t sue each other” (even though sometimes they do) the contract goes on to say they can’t sue because they are agreeing to arbitration.
So the attorney handling all of the the responses to the lawsuit, presumably a NBCu suit, has responded to the allegations by pointing out that she is bound to have her complaint decided in arbitration. They have asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed on those grounds. The Blast, who has been following this case closely from the beginning says that in lieu of dismissal, they are asking for the case to be moved from Florida to New York.
It is starting to look like the will make Jackie some sort of offer to just go away. I do not think it is going to be anywhere in the ball park of the $30 million dollars she is asking for. I do imagine there will be some sort of public apology included in the outcome if it is decided in her favor.
Stay tuned for updates.
Is that the one where the whole thing could have been avoided if Jackie understood that “like a thief in the night” is an expression? I mean, probably there was more to it than that, but she seemed hung up on the idea that Melissa was claiming she came in after hours. These women are crazy and dumb.
Well, she’s hoping to make herself $30mil richer with her “misunderstanding”. So you can see how she may be motivated to not understand.
Melissa intentionally inferred that Jackie came in and took all their shared inventory-complete with picture. Whether it was the middle of the night or not, she flat out lied. Jackie owned the inventory. Another BS storyline courtesy of the Gorga’s, similar to their, “restaurant.
If I’m wrong-feel free to correct to me.
You’re NOT wrong.
I really hope (although I doubt) that this will be a wake up call to Bravo and perpetuating fake/scripted storylines.
And allowing these people to film fake businesses’
With or without an arbitration clause, I imagine that Universal’s legal department has basically told this woman to “go sit and spin while we bleed you dry.”
There is no way I see Jackie getting $30 million no matter what was said.
No she won’t see anything approaching that amount. With that kind of case, you ask for the whole pie and pray for a sliver. In this case the pockets of NBC/Universal are deep and they pay their legal department a fortune no matter if they ever see a courtroom or not. They can wait her out, or throw a pitance her way wrapped in a tight NDA.
It never fails to amuse me that I’m the rare event they cast an actual housewife, she is almost always assigned some sort of entrepreneurial career in the second season. I guess Melissa did have the brief period of music superstardom.
Bravo does get a cut of the business’s so advertising them on the shows makes sense.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t her case hold water for defamation per se? I mean Melissa accused her of theft, which would be defaming her as far as having either committed a crime and/or shoddy business/trade practices. Why wouldn’t arbitration be in her favor? I think she’ll get not the $30 mil but some portion of that.