A former employee of Ye’s Donda Academy has dropped his lawsuit in which he alleged he was wrongfully fired in 2024 and was owed thousands of dollars in back wages for two months of work.
Gregory Alan Avila’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit also alleged whistleblower retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and various state labor code violations. On Feb. 24, Avila’s attorneys filed court papers with Judge Joseph Lipner asking that Avila’s case be dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be refiled.
The court papers do not indicate whether a settlement was reached or if Avila is not pursuing the case for other reasons.
In their previous court papers, Ye’s lawyers denied all of Avila’s allegations and multiple defenses are cited, including that the plaintiff was an at-will employee subject to termination for legitimate, non-retaliatory and non-discriminatory business reasons.
The Ye attorneys’ court papers also contended that Avila’s allegations were barred wholly or in part by the statute of limitations.
According to Avila’s suit, Donda program director Tianne King offered him a job in December 2023, telling him that his experience and talent in the music industry would make him an excellent fit with Ye’s companies. Avila, who had previously worked for both Yeezy and Donda and was an avid fan of the singer, was “thrilled” with the chance to return and expand his opportunities in music, the suit filed last March 19 stated.
Avila’s position was a coach and he was to be paid $10,000 a month, but by February 2024 he noticed he was not paid for the previous month, according to the suit. King said he would be compensated soon and that in the interim he should “get back to work,” according to the suit, which further stated that the plaintiff believed King and followed her orders.
That same month, Avila suffered an on-the-job head injury and reported it to management, which upset King, who was concerned about the potential liability to Ye and Donda, the suit stated. Fearing retaliation, Avila decided against pursuing any legal claims against the defendants, the complaint further stated.
Although King again assured Avila in February 2024 that he would be paid for his work, that same month she told him he was being terminated with yet another assurance he would receive his unpaid wages and also be considered for future employment, the suit stated.
However, to date Avila is still owed payment for the months of January and February 2024 and King has ignored his emails asking for payment, the suit stated. He also says that after his termination, Donda contended that he was an independent contractor despite King’s earlier assertions that he was to be an employee.
Avila said he had left another job to take the position at Donda and claimed to have suffered both lost wages and emotional distress.