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The musician, now known as Ye, claims there was \u201cno competent evidence\u201d supporting the six-figure award to plaintiff Tony Saxon<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\tKanye West<\/a> is seeking to overturn the $140,000 jury verdict<\/a> awarded to handyman Tony Saxon after a recent two-week trial in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \n\tSaxon testified he was severely injured while living and working<\/a> at the $57 million Malibu mansion designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Tadao Ando that West, now known as Ye, purchased for $57 million in 2021. Saxon said Ye planned to transform the luxury contemporary beach house<\/a> into an off-the-grid bunker and ordered it stripped of all plumbing, toilets, fixtures, cabinets, electricity, and a built-in concrete fireplace. When Ye sold the property three years later, it fetched $21 million, marking a steep loss.<\/p>\n \n\tIn a new filing obtained by Rolling Stone<\/em>, Ye\u2019s lawyers Andrew and Catherine Cherkasky argued the $140,000 jury award was not supported by the evidence and should be set aside.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis case went to the jury without a single admissible medical bill, without any medical records establishing injury, and without expert testimony grounded in any reliable causation or valuation methodology,\u201d the lawyers wrote. They argued that the jury\u2019s award of $50,000 for past economic loss and $50,000 for future economic loss \u201ccannot stand.\u201d They said no billing records were admitted and that a doctor testified only that Saxon\u2019s treatment cost \u201cabout $50,000.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe total award doesn\u2019t make sense, they argued. \u201cThe jury\u2019s own findings confirm the speculative nature of the claimed future damages. While it awarded $50,000 for future economic loss, it simultaneously awarded zero dollars for future pain and suffering, even though the physician\u2019s recommendations for future procedures were premised entirely on the possibility that plaintiff would experience intermittent pain requiring treatment,\u201d the lawyers wrote. <\/p>\n \n\tThe trial record contains \u201cno competent evidence supporting\u201d the award, they concluded. \u201cAt a minimum, the court should order a new trial limited to damages.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSaxon\u2019s lawyer, Ronald Zambrano, said he expects the motion to fail. \u201cWe\u2019ve reviewed the [filing] and it is defendants\u2019 attempt to relitigate an issue that was already denied by the court prior to trial,\u201d he said in a statement to Rolling Stone<\/em>. \u201cWe have strong confidence the Judge will make the same decision, disagree with defendants\u2019 reading of the law, and leave the jury\u2019s verdict as is.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n \n\tAt trial, Saxon had asked for $1.7 million in damages<\/a>. Jurors found that Saxon was Ye\u2019s employee, not an independent contractor, but they declined to impose punitive damages. They found that Saxon had not been wrongfully terminated and that Ye did not engage in \u201cmalice, oppression, or fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt took a lot of discussion to get to $140,000. Some people wanted to go higher,\u201d a juror who spoke with Rolling Stone<\/em> on condition of anonymity said last week. \u201cWe thought [Saxon] was injured, but there were too many other nebulous things to consider.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe juror said the panel meticulously dissected bank statements and canceled checks to determine how much of the $240,000 that Ye wired to Saxon in late 2021 had been used to pay workers and invoices, and how much should count toward the wages Saxon claimed he was still owed. \u201cWe figured he pretty much broke even,\u201d the juror said.<\/p>\n \n\tAsked about Ye\u2019s wild turn on the witness stand, when he appeared to fall asleep<\/a> amid questioning, she and a fellow juror didn\u2019t pull any punches. \u201cHe looked at us contemptuously. It was just a waste of our time. Either he was just bored, or he was falling asleep on the stand. Both are bad options. I was not impressed,\u201d the female juror said.<\/p>\n \t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n \n\t\u201cOh, he fell asleep. I saw it,\u201d the second juror, a man, told Rolling Stone<\/em>. \u201cI was kind of surprised. I could tell he\u2019s not what some of my friends who still like him believe.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSaxon\u2019s lawyers called the mixed verdict \u201ca vindication\u201d for their client. \u201cObviously, it\u2019s not as much as we asked for, but under the labor code, they have to pay attorney fees and costs. It\u2019s going to be a lot more than $140,000 when it\u2019s all said and done. The final judgment should be over $1 million,\u201d Saxon\u2019s lawyer Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Rolling Stone<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tRahmani and Zambrano said that before the trial, Ye demanded that Saxon pay the rapper-producer\u2019s fees and issue a public apology. Saxon refused, they said. \u201cIn true David-vs.-Goliath fashion, Mr. Saxon stood firm against one of the biggest celebrities in the world, with the truth on his side,\u201d Zambrano said in a statement last week.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAlthough the jury found that Saxon qualified as an employee for certain purposes, they awarded no damages for lost wages, overtime, waiting-time penalties, retaliation, punitive damages, or any other statutory penalties,\u201d Ye\u2019s spokesman, Milo Yiannopoulos, said in a statement highlighting Ye\u2019s victories. He also pointed to a portion of the verdict form where jurors found that Saxon performed \u201cin the capacity of a contractor\u201d while working for Ye. Based on that finding, he said, \u201cwe believe the damages award is legally barred.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn his closing argument, Andrew Cherkasky portrayed Saxon as an unreliable witness who fabricated claims about injuries and unpaid wages after being let go from the project. \u201cThe lies are so deep and so wicked, not a thing can be believed that came out of his mouth,\u201d Cherkasky said, calling Saxon a \u201cprofessional victim.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tCherkasky also praised Ye for taking the witness stand. \u201cHe answered the questions. He wasn\u2019t sleeping, he was bored. This is beneath him,\u201d Cherkasky argued. In rebuttal, Zambrano said Ye hardly deserved a \u201cparticipation prize\u201d for his brief appearance. \u201cWho\u2019s been here the rest of the time? You guys,\u201d he told the jury of seven women and five men.<\/p>\n \n\tZambrano argued Ye was gutting the Ando house without permits and had hired Saxon not as a licensed contractor but to keep the work discreet. He pointed jurors to a text message from Ye\u2019s wife, Bianca Censori<\/a>, who was working as an architectural consultant on the project in late 2021. \u201cNo permitting increases caution,\u201d she wrote, apparently suggesting that the team find \u201cquicker\u201d solutions to problems to create \u201cless red flags.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n \n\tCensori, a trained architect from Australia, testified before her husband, telling jurors that Ye had an aversion to stairs and windows<\/a>, preferring \u201cramps and slides\u201d and using \u201cmesh as the barrier between indoor and out.\u201d She said Saxon had told her he was a licensed contractor, a claim Saxon denied.<\/p>\n \n\tText messages shown to jurors appeared to document Saxon complaining about a back injury suffered on the job. \u201cI hurt my back and have been taking it easy,\u201d he wrote to Ye in one text. In another message to Censori, he wrote, \u201cMy back is so fucked.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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