Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd are under fire for failing to pay a $490,000 settlement awarded to Ernest R. Bennick and other employees, who accused the couple of refusing to give them overtime pay, meal breaks, and more.
Over three years after the class action lawsuit was filed against Lisa and Ken, as well as their Pump LLC, also alleging they violated labor codes, Ernest argued in court documents that the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills couple falsely claimed that Pump, which closed in July, has “no assets.”
According to court documents obtained by The U.S. Sun on November 3, Ernest filed a motion on behalf of himself and others in August for the approval of the settlement amount, which includes $171,500 in attorneys’ fees and $7,500 for his “extensive efforts in prosecuting this case.”
In the case against Lisa and Ken, who are also seen on Vanderpump Rules, it was estimated that over 14,000 worker hours had been clocked between August 6, 2016, and December 1, 2022, and the amount owed was suspected to be nearly $2 million.
In response to Ernest’s motion, Lisa and Ken’s attorney said that Pump “does not intend to perform the terms of the mediated settlement agreement, but would be willing to discuss alternatives with Plaintiff’s counsel.”
The attorney also mentioned the closing of Pump, noting it was shuttered due to “on-going back rent and future rent issues with the restaurant’s landlord, coupled with the Covid-19 closure period and an overall downturn in business,” and stating that the company has “no assets remaining.”
“The Company is working through and re-negotiating several hundred thousand dollars in unpaid rent and vendor invoices as part of the wind-down process,” the attorney added.
Following the attorney’s statements, however, Ernest clapped back, accusing Lisa and Todd of making “false” and “self-serving” claims.
“Defendants omit the fact that the restaurant re-opened in or around August 2023, at a new location,” they wrote, seemingly in a nod to reports earlier this year that Pump would be re-opening next to TomTom (which it has yet to do).
Ernest also denied that Lisa and Ken laid off their remaining employees, citing a “brazen and troublesome” interview in which Lisa said, “The staff at PUMP will come over to the new version of PUMP. Many of these loyal employees have worked at PUMP for over a decade.”
He then blasted Ken for bragging that he is a “multimillionaire individual,” noting that he and Lisa can “clearly pay to fund the Settlement” but “don’t want to.”
“Indeed, this is the third lawsuit brought against a restaurant owned by Todd and Vanderpump and it is not the first time that Todd attempts to ignore his legal duties (and even Court-issued Orders) in funding settlements,” the plaintiff continued. “In fact, in another case…Todd was in violation of a Court Order for failing to fund the employer’s share of taxes and only finally funded them when sanctions were threatened by the Court.”
“While Todd may be a famous personality and television star, neither he nor anyone else is above the law. Yet Todd seems to, at times, think that he is above the law and can skirt his legal duties, violate court orders, or do as he pleases no matter who the victim of his legal failures is,” he added.
The report went on to state that while Lisa and Ken signed “an enforceable Settlement Agreement to resolve this putative class action,” the case could still go to trial.
