Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is suing a construction manager for allegedly interfering with the sale of his $57 million Malibu house.
Ye brought slander and breach of contract claims on Thursday (Jan. 8) against Tony Saxon, who handled construction work on the rapper’s beachfront mansion in 2021. Notably, Saxon has been pursuing his own lawsuit against Ye since 2023 over alleged unpaid wages and unsafe working conditions on the job.
To account for those alleged unpaid wages, Saxon took out a $1.8 million lien on the house after Ye put it on the market, through which Saxon claimed he would be entitled to a portion of the proceeds from any sale. Saxon’s lawyer, Ronald Zambrano, told media outlets at the time, “If someone wants to buy Kanye’s Malibu home, they’ll have to deal with us first.”
“Ye is one of the most recognizable recording artists and entrepreneurs in the world and rarely initiates litigation,” wrote Ye’s lawyers in the Thursday complaint. “Plaintiffs bring this action because defendants recorded and then wrongfully maintained a $1,819,986.00 mechanics lien against the property — despite knowing or having reason to know the lien was invalid — while simultaneously launching an aggressive publicity campaign designed to pressure Ye, chill prospective transactions, and extract payment on disputed claims already being litigated in court.”
A judge ultimately disposed of Saxon’s lien last year after determining that he’d failed to enforce it. But Ye alleges that the lien, and the swirl of publicity initiated by Saxon’s team, did damage to his real estate dealings while in place.
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According to Ye, the lien required him to buy a bond and had the effect of “discouraging buyers, title and escrow professionals, lenders and the public.” Ye ultimately sold the house for $21 million, significantly below his $57 million purchase price from 2021, according to an MLS report.
Ye is now seeking unspecified financial damages from Saxon, Zambrano and the lawyer’s firm. Zambrano did not immediately have any comment on the claims when reached on Friday (Jan. 9).
Zambrano is behind a number of employment-related lawsuits that have been brought against Ye in recent years. In addition to Saxon, his clients have included teachers who allege the controversial rapper fired them for complaining about bizarre conditions at his now-shuttered school, Donda Academy.
Saxon’s lawsuit against Ye remains pending, with a trial scheduled to begin this March. Ye maintains that he doesn’t owe anything, arguing in court papers that he already made “substantial payments” and that Saxon isn’t entitled to more because he doesn’t have a valid contractor’s license.
