A judge said she is inclined to grant Lady Gaga’s request to dismiss a civil suit brought by a woman who claims she is entitled to a $500,000 reward the singer put forward for the safe return of two French bulldogs after they were stolen in 2021 year.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Holly J. Fujii ruled Friday in favor of the “Born This Way” singer and against plaintiffs Jennifer McBride. The judge is scheduled to hear arguments later Monday morning before making a final decision.
McBride returned the dogs to Lady Gaga in February 2021. In her complaint, originally filed on February 24 and then updated on July 28, she alleges that the singer tricked her into giving up her pets with the promise that no questions would be asked if the pets were returned.
“Plaintiff was in no way involved in the theft of Lady Gaga’s bulldogs and had no knowledge of said theft or its planning prior to its occurrence,” the amended complaint states.
McBride is suing for breach of contract, fraud by false promise and fraud by misrepresentation. She also seeks legal fees and compensation for financial damages, pain and suffering, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life. McBride maintains that she fulfilled her obligations under the remuneration contract and that the singer never intended to pay the remuneration.
But in their court papers, the singer’s lawyers dispute McBride’s claims of innocence and say her lawyer did not address problems with the first version of the lawsuit. Gaga’s lawyers argue that McBride was part of a conspiracy to steal animals.
“Simply put, no amount of repetition, clever or otherwise, can overcome the fact that California law prevents plaintiffs from committing a crime and then profiting from it,” the executor’s lawyers argued in their court filings.
In her attempt to rule, the judge expressed skepticism about McBride’s claims, as she did during the July 10 hearing. At that time, Fujii gave the plaintiffs another chance to convince her that the lawsuit should continue by filing an amended complaint.
“If anything, (the amended complaint) makes it even clearer than the original complaint that (McBride) has unclean hands that prevent her from profiting from her actions,” Fujii wrote.
“Unclean hands” is a legal term that refers to instances where plaintiffs have acted unethically due to the circumstances leading to the claim.
“Although Plaintiff alleges that she did not participate in the pre-planning or execution of the theft of (Gaga’s) bulldogs, she does not deny that she knew at the time she sought the reward that they were stolen from (Gaga), nor does she deny that she received them knowing this,” Fujii says in her new preliminary ruling. “In fact, (McBride) claims that she knew that the bulldogs belonged to (Gaga), that they were stolen from (Gaga) and that when (McBride) received the bulldogs and contacted (the singer), she was trying to get $500,000 from (Gaga) for property she knew was stolen.”
According to McBride’s amended complaint, the plaintiffs understood that the singer would pay a reward for the safe return of her bulldogs, no questions asked, even though the animals were stolen from the singer’s dog walker.
Relying on that offer, McBride “took possession of defendant’s bulldogs for the express purpose of securing their protection and returning them safely…” according to the amended complaint, which further states that plaintiffs “were slandered and vilified in the media, causing her serious psychological and emotional suffering.”
On February 26, 2021, two days after her dogs were stolen, Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joan Angelina Germanotta, tweeted that she would pay $500,000 for their safe return, according to court documents. McBride brought the pets to the Los Angeles Police Department that same day, and they were later returned to Gaga, the singer’s lawyers said in court documents.
“Plaintiffs then said she was a Good Samaritan who happened upon the dogs on the street and had ‘no idea’ they belonged to (Gaga),” the 37-year-old singer’s lawyers said.
In truth, McBride was a “direct and knowledgeable participant in a criminal enterprise,” and after her story came under scrutiny by the LAPD, she was soon arrested, pleaded no contest to knowingly receiving stolen property, and was sentenced to two years probation December. the performer’s lawyers claim.
Ryan Fischer, a dog walker for the singer, was walking three dogs near Sunset Boulevard on Feb. 24, 2021, when he was shot once in the chest with a bullet from a .40-caliber handgun. Two dogs were stolen. The third was left behind and was later recovered.
After the arrest of fellow alleged participants in the attack, Jaylin Keyshawn White, who was accused of strangling Fisher, and Howard Jackson, who allegedly shot Fisher, were placed in adjacent cells, and White was recorded complaining about the arrests and addressing McBride by name, according to court documents. the singer’s lawyers.
Jackson pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and was sentenced to 21 years in prison in December. White pleaded not guilty to second-degree robbery and was sentenced in August 2022 to four years in prison.