Kanye West’s high-powered lawyer asks to be removed from nine of rapper’s cases after he ‘refuses to pay him’
KANYE West’s lawyer has asked to drop out of nine of his civil cases because he refused to pay up or speak to him causing huge delays to his legal cases.
The controversial star is being sued by multiple people and is at the center of at least eleven ongoing lawsuits.
But The U.S. Sun can reveal he could soon be without a lawyer for all of the cases after the breakdown of his relationship with attorney Brian Brumfield in June.
According to reports, Brumfield had already asked to be relieved as counsel for his case involving Justin Poplawski, who accused West of assault after asking him for an autograph in 2022.
In his legal response, West’s team claimed that “Defendant is informed and believes, and based on such information and belief, alleges that Defendant was justified in doing any and/or all of the acts alleged in the Complaint.”
The known ‘autograph hunter’ sued for assault and battery after he was allegedly punched outside a nightclub.
A hearing on the motion to remove West’s lawyer is scheduled for later this month.
Brumfield has also officially been removed from a case involving Gap which wants West to pay for any damages it might incur in a lawsuit with Art City Center.
The company owns a building in downtown Los Angeles that was leased to Gap as a storefront for West’s Yeezy clothing line and wants the money over alleged unapproved alterations.
But Gap insists it’s West’s fault it was left in a mess, but he is yet to respond.
Art City Center asked the court to deny the attorney’s motion if it would result in the case being delayed, as West has not yet filed a response, but the judge granted it.
Meanwhile, his lawyer has now filed papers to be removed from more civil suits in Los Angeles, documents show.
Dealing with him in a lawsuit is impossible, there’s no compromise or reasonable behavior.”
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“Defendant, Kanye West, terminated relationship on 6/21/2024. Defendant also will not speak to counsel and Defendant refuses to pay counsel as well,” Brumfield claims in each one.
They include a case filed in April by Trevor Phillips, a former Donda Academy employee, who is suing for harassment, discrimination, a hostile work environment, and other complaints.
He claimed in the suit, “In front of the schoolchildren, Kanye continued his dangerous rhetoric. Kanye started to openly discuss how he only likes to date white women.
“Then addressing the two school children, Kanye told them that he wanted them to shave their heads and that he intended to put a jail at the school — and that they could be locked in cages. The staff quickly distracted the children, and escorted them out of the room.”
West denied all of the claims in a formal response, with his counsel claiming, “Plaintiff’s Complaint, and each and every purported cause of action alleged therein, is uncertain, vague, and ambiguous.
“Plaintiff’s alleged damages, if any, were caused by circumstances and conduct other than that alleged in the Complaint,” they added.
The case has now stalled and a hearing on Brumfield’s motion will be held this week.
The attorney has also been asked to be removed from other cases, the majority of which involve people who have worked for the 47-year-old star.
Sources told The U.S. Sun that West is yet to hire a new lawyer.
An insider with knowledge of Kanye’s situation told The U.S. Sun, “Dealing with him in a lawsuit is impossible, there’s no compromise or reasonable behavior.”
He has at least three suits which he has not yet formally responded to, including a case brought by his former assistant, Lauren Pisciotta.
The model filed a lawsuit claiming the rapper sent her a series of vulgar texts before firing her.
Her filing states that one year after she started working for West, the rapper approached her asking her to be “God like” and delete her OnlyFans account.
He promised to pay her $1 million a year if she obliged but allegedly never paid up, according to docs.
She alleges that in October 2022 the rapper fired her but offered her $3 million in severance.
Pisciotta alleges West hasn’t paid her a cent.
West also allegedly sent several sexual videos to Pisciotta, including a 24-second clip he filmed of a model performing oral sex on him, according to the complaint.
He has denied the claims with a former rep claiming in June, “In response to these baseless allegations, Ye will be filing a lawsuit against Ms. Pisciotta, who actively pursued him sexually to coerce employment and other material benefits, then engaged in blackmail and extortion when her advances were rejected.”
West, who currently doesn’t have a publicist, is yet to file a lawsuit against Pisciotta and a conference management hearing has been scheduled for October 1, 2024.
Despite apparently being in desperate need of a lawyer, West still seems to be living like there’s no tomorrow.
Kanye West's chaotic life
Katy Forrester, The U.S. Sun's Assistant Editor of Exclusives, has been covering Kanye's rollercoaster life and controversies several years. Here she gives her opinion on the recent legal updates.
Kanye has never been one to have his act together, and news his lawyer is asking to be removed from several cases is sadly no surprise.
Many of the people who have sued Kanye in the past have had to wait years for settlements as he does not prioritize legal complaints.
Despite the fact he’s been sued before, I have never known his situation to be as bad as it is today with 10 or more lawsuits.
I wouldn’t want to be Kanye’s lawyer, I don’t think anyone has that much time on their hands, and he is known to be a bad communicator.
Former lawyers even stated they did not know of his whereabouts at one point, only stating he was “somewhere in Japan” and not responding to them. A regular theme.
Kanye’s net worth may have sunk, but he’s still made millions from Yeezy and his recent music, along with having a 5 per cent stake in his ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS brand.
I don’t think Kanye is going to change his ways when it comes to getting his affairs in order, he’s still rich and barely worries about any of the drama.
It would take him to hit rock bottom.
But his lavish spending, dwindling popularity, and pending big legal payouts could see him face reality sooner rather than later.
He has been seen this month out and about with his wife Bianca Censori in barely-there outfits, and welcoming the delivery of new Tesla Cyber Trucks.
The star’s legal situation is not the only area of his life that needs some serious attention, as he has also found himself in a mess when it comes to his finances, despite still being worth millions of dollars.
His firms, including Yeezy, now owe a total of $1,064,221, as he’s yet to cough up on ten tax liens and property taxes.
The U.S. Sun previously revealed his clothing business is also in shambles, as the Yeezy website is no longer taking orders, weeks after slashing prices on all items to $20.
Sales were said to be up after his Super Bowl commercial earlier this year, but the business appears to be all over the place.
Yeezy suffered after West was canceled and dropped by big names in fashion over his anti-Semitic comments in 2022, after which he broke off on his own.
West and Adidas remain locked in a secret arbitration dispute in which the company claims the star’s “offensive conduct” led to the breakdown of the partnership.
It previously dropped a federal court case aimed at freezing $75 million held by Kanye West’s Yeezy brand, saying it will instead pursue the money privately.
In February this year, Kanye stated he was being sued by the brand for $250 million, although there is no confirmation of this.
He lost his billionaire status after their deal fell apart and a few years ago was valued at around $400 million, according to Forbes.
