Erika Girardi might be in a bit more trouble than we all thought.
According to court documents, Erika’s attorneys have moved to withdraw from representing her following the release of a new documentary exploring the legal troubles she and estranged husband Tom Girardi are facing.
via People:
According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP – the law firm representing her in Tom’s Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case – filed paperwork to withdraw as her counsel on Tuesday. Erika was notified of their withdrawal on Monday, the same day the Hulu documentary, The Housewife and the Hustler, dropped.
“The relationship of trust and confidence that is essential to a properly functioning attorney-client relationship has broken down and, in the good faith assessment of counsel, the relationship is irreparable,” the lawyers wrote in the documents.
The firm also said they have advised Erika to seek new representation and have warned her of “the potential consequences of not timely securing replacement counsel.”
As of the Tuesday filing, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star had not identified new counsel to the firm.
Erika, 49, filed for divorce from Tom, 82, in November, telling PEOPLE that it was not “a step taken lightly or easily.”
A month after she filed for divorce, Tom and Erika were sued for allegedly using their split to embezzle money. Erika declined to comment on the case when reached by PEOPLE at the time and Tom did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
In December, Tom and his law firm, Girardi & Keese (GK), were held in civil contempt and had their assets frozen by a judge. Also in December, Tom was hit with another lawsuit, this time from his partner, Robert Keese, and fellow business partners, Robert Finnerty and Jill O’Callahan, to dissolve their venture together. (Tom has not responded to either lawsuit, publicly or in court.)
In the months since then, Tom has been diagnosed with dementia and late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and his younger brother, Robert, has been named as a conservator over his person and estate.
The Housewife and the Hustler, streaming now on Hulu, features various legal experts and those accusing Tom of embezzlement and questionable legal practices discussing the scandals.
Though Erika has not legally been charged with any crimes, one of the biggest questions posed in the documentary – and on the current season of RHOBH – is how much she knew when it came to Tom’s legal woes.
“Tom and Erika, they’re stuck together in these bankruptcy proceedings. A lot of these debts, that they owe in bankruptcy proceedings, [they] owe together, possibly,” said Brandon Lowrey, a reporter at Law360. “It’s going to be hard for her to say to she didn’t know that anything was going on.”
It’ll be very interesting to see how all of this plays out.
