Ye owes $321,000 to Malibu mansion worker after judge adds fees
A Los Angeles judge added $181,000 in legal fees and costs to construction worker Tony Saxon’s court win against Ye, bringing the total award to $321,000. Judge Brock T. Hammond made the order on October 13. The decision builds on a jury verdict from March over work at Ye’s former beachside mansion in Malibu. Billboard
Jurors awarded Saxon $140,000 after finding Ye responsible for on-the-job injuries suffered in 2021. Saxon said he injured his back while helping to gut the Malibu house, a design by architect Tadao Ando, for a planned open-concept bunker. The jury favoured him on one central point: Ye had failed to provide workers’ compensation, the insurance that covers workplace injuries.
The jury did not favour him on everything. It rejected his additional claims for wrongful termination and underpaid wages. It also awarded no punitive damages, the extra sums meant to punish rather than repay. Variety
What makes the figures stand out is the gap between what was sought and what was granted. Saxon had asked the jury for $1.7 million in damages. After the verdict, he sought a further $1.2 million in lawyers’ fees and $300,000 in costs. Hammond allowed $181,000 for fees and costs combined.
Ye’s defence at trial was that Saxon was not an employee at all. His lawyer told jurors that Saxon worked as an independent, unlicensed contractor. The lawyer said Saxon was paid $240,000 and then quit. Courthouse News
The case began in Los Angeles Superior Court with a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. It had been scheduled to go to trial beginning in March. Saxon’s filing described long days, unsafe conditions and back injuries during the strip-out of the house.
The mansion itself has since changed hands. Ye bought the Malibu property for $57 million and later finalised a sale for $21 million. Ye has countersued Saxon, bringing slander and breach of contract claims on Thursday, January 8. He alleges Saxon interfered with the sale by taking an improper lien, a legal claim lodged against a property, and running a publicity campaign. That countersuit is still pending.
