Serena Williams’ stepmother is making life hell for “King Richard” on the eve of his birthday – as the legal battle over their crumbling home takes another turn.
The former tennis coach turns 82 on Valentine’s Day, almost seven years after he filed for divorce from his much younger estranged wife, Lakeisha, 45.
She previously admitted in court documents that she forged the title deed to his $1.4 million Florida home and transferred it into her name during their divorce.
Lakisha, who had worked as a stripper in Miami, applied for a $279,000 loan from hard-lender David Simon and went bankrupt when her trucking business failed.
Since then, she has been battling the ongoing threat of foreclosure after seriously defaulting on her payments.
Now, Lakeisha is facing mounting problems both in her divorce case and in a lawsuit Simon filed against her after he sued her over loan repayments.
The American Sun revealed that her divorce lawyer, Sara Lawrence, has filed a motion to withdraw and a motion for an attorney fee lien, which occurs when a client does not pay attorney fees and the attorney benefits from a court judgment Down. Get back the money you owe them.
This means that if a Palm Beach Gardens property is foreclosed on, attorney fees will be deducted from the sale.
In response, Lakeisha has filed a motion asking Lawrence to continue the case.
Bankruptcy is imminent
In June, she filed a motion to dismiss the case claiming Richard, who had suffered two strokes, was coerced by a third party — a claim she reiterated in a recent filing last month.
Richard’s legal team has now filed motions for contempt of attorney fees and sanctions as Lakeisha delays the divorce, but he is determined to move forward with the dissolution.
She was also sued by Simon, who demanded the return of cash, including attorney fees and interest, which at one point exceeded $620,000.
According to court documents, Lakeisha paid Simon next to nothing in five years but delayed foreclosure by filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy three times, with the third still pending in court.
For the past year, Lakeisha had largely been on her jumbo repayment plan, but the plan again went awry and she received a delinquency notice saying she owed $36,409.
If the fee is not paid by March 7, the case may be “dismissed without notice or hearing,” as court documents state.
In August, The American Sun revealed that over the past 17 months, Lakeisha had repaid $171,486, but was still $13,197 less than planned.
judge’s warning
Her lawyer, Elias Dsouza, argued that it was an honest mistake and that Rakeisha was not aware of the shortage, adding, “The debtor is a single mother who earns her living by driving a car and a half. Towing trucks for a living. Suffice it to say, she is not one of the most sophisticated debtors and relying on others to inform her of planned payments does her a disservice.”
Dsouza asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to build that shortfall into her five-year plan, which would mean payments of $9,161 for 18 months, then $13,308 one month and $12,731 for the next 41 months.
Judge Mindy Mora agreed to modify the plan.
However, she warned Lakeisha that if she didn’t keep up her payments, she would lose the house.
“If the modified plan does not provide for payment to a secured creditor, that creditor will be granted in rem relief to pursue available state court remedies against any property of the debtor that secures the secured creditor’s claim,” Mora’s order said. measure.”
It then goes on to say that payments are due “within 45 days” of notification of default and that “the courts will not extend these deadlines except in exceptional circumstances”.