Kanye West Ignores Donda Academy Lawsuit Hearing, Three Companies Now In “Default”
Kanye West disregarded an important hearing in one of the lawsuits filed against Donda Academy on Wednesday (Dec. 11). His absence led to the first defaults against his companies amid the ligation involving his private Christian school.
Per Rolling Stone, the defaults for Yeezy Christian Academy, Donda Services LLC, and Stokes Canyon LLC were entered by Superior Court Judge Christopher K. Lui at a Downtown Los Angeles hearing in connection to the breach of contract lawsuit filed in 2023 by former employee Isaiah Meadows.
Judge Lui didn’t mention if the trial would be postponed; it’s currently set for April. West remains a defendant as an individual and has the right to wait until trial and represent himself.
“I think the case needs to move on,” Judge Lui said after stating that West and his companies failed to appear through a retained lawyer at a similar hearing last month. “There’s basically no representation for these three entities.” The judge said the answers to the lawsuit previously filed by West’s old attorney, Brian Brumfield, on behalf of the three companies would be stricken.
Of the motion, Meadows’ lawyer Ron Zambrano told Rolling Stone, “We’re satisfied with the decision. This particular judge is not one to wait for things to happen. He makes sure things happen, and happen correctly. He wants case to move along without any weird loose ends. We’re looking forward to collecting a judgment.”
Meadows claimed he was hired to “help run” the school in 2020 and aided in its transition from Yeezy Christian Academy to Donda Academy in August 2021. It was then that he said his compensation was cut, rent stipend was revoked, and he was terminated in August 2022 after complaining about the school’s unsafe conditions including an overflowing septic tank, exposed electrical wiring, and glass-less windows because Ye allegedly “did not like glass.”
Meadows’ lawsuit came after two teachers who also filed complaints about its poor security and “non-existent educational standards” were fired. They claimed that the only lunch made available was sushi and West “did not allow chairs,” just stools and foam cushions. A third teacher joined that filing and three more lawsuits surfaced.
West had retained Brumfield to help with four of the lawsuits, but Brumfield was “terminated” in June 2024. “Defendant also will not speak to counsel and defendant refuses to pay counsel as well,” Brumfield wrote to the court.
Zambrano is set to submit a proposed judgment for the court’s consideration.
West was hit with his fifth Donda Academy-related lawsuit last month when Murphy Aficionado, a former Yeezy staffer, sued the rapper claiming he was fired after questioning West’s plans to move Donda Academy to a “decrepit property” without proper permits. Aficionado also accused West of subjecting him to antisemitic diatribes and forcing him to sit in an adjoining hotel suite while West engaged in loud sex.
West’s antisemitic rants were also the reason why his Gap and Adidas partnerships ended.
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