Kanye “Ye” West has been forced to pay $140,000 to a former contractor he hired to transform a prominent Malibu mansion into an “off the grid” self-sufficient compound after a Los Angeles jury returned a mixed verdict in a weeks-long labor dispute and trial.
In a two-week trial in Los Angeles Superior Court, a jury decided Tuesday night that Ye must pay damages to Tony Thaxton for injuries he suffered while an unlicensed contractor was working on the rapper’s property. Saxton is seeking $1.7 million in damages.
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The verdict was mixed, with him receiving $100,000 in damages to cover past and future medical expenses and $40,000 in damages for past pain and suffering. But the plaintiff was not awarded damages or punitive damages involving future pain and suffering. A jury ruled on Tuesday that Saxon was not wrongfully fired and that there was no “malice, oppression or fraud” committed by the rapper-producer and fashion mogul.
The legal case centers on Saxon’s work as a contractor, who claims he describes himself as a “guy with a van” rather than a contractor, and accuses the rapper of forcing him to live on the property as he attempts to realize the bizarre plans he had for the home. Ye wants to make it self-sufficient and “off the grid.” As of now, the property has been designed primarily by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, who is known for integrating architecture into the landscape.
The 4,000-square-foot, four-bedroom estate was stripped down to a “concrete shell” during a failed renovation; it currently has no doors, windows, electricity or plumbing after Ye requested it be repaired. The rapper’s esoteric design requests included using slides instead of stairs. Saxon said in legal documents that he was injured during the failed construction and was fired in retaliation after raising safety concerns, and that the rapper should be responsible for medical bills.
“The jury rejected nearly all of his claims,” Ye’s representative, Milo Yiannopoulos, said in a statement sent to him. “While the jury found Saxon qualified as an employee for certain purposes, they did not award damages for lost wages, overtime, waiting time penalties, retaliation, punitive damages or any other statutory penalty.”
Saxon’s attorneys said the lower award was disappointing, but if they stood up to the rapper, they were satisfied with the outcome and that the jury found him an employee.
“While the jury’s verdict was less than we requested, the California Labor Code allows us to recover attorney’s fees and costs. When all is said and done, Ye’s verdict should be in excess of $1 million,” Neama Rahmani, president of the West Coast Trial Lawyers Association, said in a statement sent to CNN. The Hollywood Reporter. “We will not be bullied by Ye, his team, or anyone else. We appreciate the jury’s time and verdict, and we look forward to continuing to represent employees who have been treated unfairly and refuse to be intimidated or silenced.”
The company’s employment chairman, Ronald Zambrano, said the mixed verdict vindicated their client.
“Ye’s lawyers called him in court a liar, a liar and a malingerer,” he said in a statement. “His medical records, bank records and personal family history were dissected, ridiculed and slandered. Ye’s team demanded that Tony pay them to settle the case and publicly apologize. Most would have caved. In true David vs. Goliath fashion, Mr. Saxon stood firm against one of the world’s greatest celebrities, and the facts were on his side.”
Yiannopoulos noted that the jury also found that Saxon “acted in his capacity as a contractor and did not meet the employee exception under California’s contractor licensing regulations.” California’s laws regarding licensing during work are very strict; not only are unlicensed individuals working as contractors not entitled to compensation for such work, but they may also face legal complaints from clients seeking to recoup money paid.
He added: “Based on these findings, we believe the award of damages is legally invalid and will seek post-trial relief from the courts.”
Despite such issues, the dispute between the two over the home is not over by any means, as they will once again take to court to sue Ye over a lawsuit filed by Saxon over a so-called “mechanics lien” placed on the property in January 2024 by a hired contractor. In the lawsuit, Ye alleges that Sason and his attorneys at West Coast Trial Law Firm “erroneously” placed an “invalid” lien on the property “while launching an aggressive publicity campaign designed to pressure Ye, freeze potential transactions and collect payments on disputed claims that have been litigated in court.” “
Ye claimed that statements made to the company about the lien and statements made by the company to the media made it difficult to sell the property in 2023.
“If someone wants to buy Kanye’s Malibu home, they have to deal with us first. If Tony gets paid first, the deal can’t happen,” Zambrano told business insider then. The sentence cited in the lawsuit was an impediment to the property’s sale because it created public pressure and interfered with Ye’s ability to sell the property and finance it by falsely conveying Saxon’s authority to block any transactions related to the mansion.
Yiannopoulos said in a statement that the actual case between the two has not yet come to light.
“The first lawsuit ended with Saxon taking back only a fraction of what the lawyers were asking for,” Yiannopoulos told the magazine. “The second lawsuit will address the more serious misconduct surrounding the lien and the harm it caused.”
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