Judge sanctions lawyer suing Megan Thee Stallion over missed court appearance
A federal judge has sanctioned the lawyer representing Megan Thee Stallion’s photographer in his lost wages and hostile work environment lawsuit after he missed a status conference.
Ronald D. Zambrano of West Coast Trial Lawyers in Los Angeles is to pay the fees charged by Megan’s lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP and Roc Nation’s lawyers at Reed Smith LLP for attending the conference.
“The Court does not find that Mr. Zambrano’s failure to attend the November 6, 2024 conference was substantially justified,” according to the Nov. 19 order from U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods in the Southern District of New York in Manhattan. “The Court’s orders make clear that the November 6, 2024 conference would be held in-person, so his erroneous assumption that he could attend the conference via telephone was not substantially justified.”
The lawyers are to file their attorney fees request no later than Dec. 2. They said recently that the total is $6,000.
Zambrano represents Emilio Garcia, who accuses Megan and her management company, Jay Z’s Roc Nation, of owing him lost wages for misclassifying him as a contract employee instead of a full-time employee. He also accuses Megan, legal name Megan Pete, of hostile work environment harassment and says she disparaged him after he complained about her having sex with another woman him front him while they were in a car.
Megan’s attorneys said Garcia is a “con artist” who is “manipulating the judicial system to act as his publicist and bullhorn” through a “factually and legally frivolous” lawsuit that’s “plagued with falsehoods, misrepresentations of fact, and outlandish claims.”
They said in a May 29 filing that Garcia never witnessed Megan having sex with another woman in a car, and that Zambrano only included the allegation to bolster the “media firestorm” that followed.
Zambrano initially filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court, but Megan’s lawyers moved it to federal court in Los Angeles, then persuaded U.S. District Judge Hernan Vera to transfer it to New York because Garcia’s contract specifies disputes have jurisdiction in New York.
Judge Woods filed an order to show cause regarding sanctions after Zambrano missed the Nov. 6 pretrial conference.
Court documents:
Nov. 19 Judge Woods’ sanctions order
Nov. 15 Megan’s lawyers’ response
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