A Los Angeles jury has ruled that Kanye West must pay damages following a civil lawsuit tied to renovations at his once-lavish Malibu mansion.
The rapper, who now goes by Ye, was found liable in a case brought by contractor Tony Saxon, who claimed he suffered injuries and wasn’t properly paid while working on the multimillion-dollar coastal property.
Per Rolling Stone, after a two-week trial in Los Angeles, jurors ordered Ye to pay roughly $140,000 in damages, far less than the $1.7 million Saxon had initially sought.
Saxon alleged he was hired in 2021 to act as a project manager on the property – a stark, concrete beach house designed by acclaimed Japanese architect Tadao Ando – that Ye had purchased for around $57 million.
According to court filings and testimony, Saxon said he was promised a salary of $20,000 per week and asked to handle a range of responsibilities including overseeing demolition work, providing security, and even living at the site full-time.
During the trial, Saxon claimed he often slept in makeshift conditions inside the gutted home and was pushed to continue working despite unsafe conditions. He also alleged he injured his back while dismantling parts of the property and was later fired after raising concerns about safety.
Ye’s legal team disputed the allegations, arguing Saxon had already been paid substantial sums for his work and questioning the legitimacy of his injury claims. Lawyers for the artist said bank records showed Saxon received about $240,000 during his time on the project.
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While the jury ultimately sided partially with Saxon, the verdict fell well short of the amount he had been seeking. Ye’s representatives described the ruling as limited in scope and indicated that additional legal battles connected to the property – including a dispute over a multimillion-dollar lien placed on the home – are still ongoing.
Ye is still facing a crush of other civil lawsuits, though last year he did settle complaints from a former assistant principal and teachers at his failed private Christian school Donda Academy. The staffers alleged deplorable conditions, including an overflowing septic tank, exposed electrical wiring and the removal of windows because he allegedly “did not like glass”.
Former assistant Lauren Pisciotta sued Ye last year with claims he sexually harassed her between 2021 and 2023, then wrongfully terminated her. She alleges he made obscene comments about her body, demanded she wear tight-fitting clothing, groped her, forced her to watch pornographic material, and sent sexually explicit images. Ye is fighting the lawsuit, with a hearing set for March 23.
In a separate complaint, a model who appeared in a 2010 music video with Ye alleges he choked her with both hands, smeared her makeup, and then “rammed several fingers down her throat.” According to the lawsuit, he told her: “This is art. This is fucking art. I am like Picasso.” He is seeking to dismiss the claims.
