Having won $140,000 in his lawsuit alleging he was not fully compensated for work overseeing a renovation project at the Malibu mansion of rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, a handyman is seeking nearly 10 times that amount in attorneys’ fees
Plaintiff Tony Saxon maintained in his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that Ye, 48, agreed to pay him $20,000 per week under a 2021 deal, but only turned over one $20,000 payment and $100,000 for construction costs. Judge Brock T. Hammond previously denied Ye’s motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict and upheld a jury’s March 11 verdict.
Saxon’s lawyers filed court papers with Hammond on Friday in advance of a scheduled Oct. 7 hearing asking that he award their client $1.23 million in attorneys’ fees, which includes compensation for the work of three West Coast Trial Lawyers attorneys as well as $8,360 in remuneration to a law firm paralegal.
The law involved in Saxon’s case included a “complex and interwoven mix of rights” under the Federal Employment and Housing Act and the Labor Code, according to Saxon’s attorneys’ pleadings.
The case also was a “huge financial expense” to WCTL, which spent over $300,000, the Saxon lawyers further state in their court papers.
“Spending such large amounts of money, when the defendant contends they have no liability, truly makes this case, and any such case, risky notwithstanding how good your case is on an evidentiary perspective,” the firm’s lawyers contend in their pleadings.
In his lawsuit, Saxon maintained he was forced to sleep on the mansion floor while acting as a security guard and fired in November 2021 for not complying with Ye’s “dangerous requests” that could cause the plaintiff to be injured.
Saxon said he often complained to Ye about various dangers during the remodeling. Saxon further alleged that workers unsafely demolished parts of the house with no safety equipment, yet Ye took no action addressing the complaints.
The day Ye fired Saxon, the singer told him, “If you don’t do what I say, you’re not going to work for me, I’m not gonna be your friend anymore and you’ll just see me on TV,” the suit filed in September 2023 stated.
When Saxon replied, “I don’t watch TV,” Ye said, “Leave,” the suit stated.