Legal

Brooke Burke and David Charvet are free to move about Malibu as single people -- they've finally hammered out their divorce and they're both walking away with plenty of assets.

Brooke filed to divorce the ex-'Baywatch' star way back in April 2018, which might make ya think this was a nasty split, but the divorce docs -- obtained by TMZ -- make it seem pretty damn amicable.

First off, they're putting the co in co-parenting -- agreeing to 50/50 physical and legal custody of their 2 kids -- Shaya and Heaven. They're also going 50/50 on all expenses for the children, and neither will pay child support.

As for property, Brooke gets 2 homes -- one in Malibu and a condo in Santa Monica -- while David gets a Malibu property of his own. Let's face it ... both of those bodies belong at the beach.

The exes share an art collection that they plan to divvy up down the road. Brooke gets ownership of 2 fitness companies, and David gets a few other companies, including Malibu Stone and Building Materials.

As for money ... they're splitting up their bank accounts, and they've agreed neither will pay spousal support. That's it. Easy, breezy divorce ... and both have already moved on.

Chris Cornell's widow is spilling more bad blood in her legal war with Soundgarden ... she says the surviving band members didn't so much as text her after her husband's tragic death.

Vicky Cornell just blasted the band in legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- saying Soundgarden never reached out to her in any fashion after Chris committed suicide.

In the docs, Vicky also says the surviving band members charged her private flight to Chris' memorial as a tour expense instead of paying for it out of their own pockets.

And, get this ... in the docs, Vicky says Chris never signed a written partnership agreement with the band because he "was tired of others unfairly capitalizing on his creative talents, or in his words, 'the stupid communist bulls***.' "

Vicky's explosive filing, prepared by legal pit bull Marty Singer, is part of her ongoing legal dispute with Soundgarden.

As we reported ... Vicky is suing Soundgarden for unpaid royalties, but the band claims she filed her lawsuit in the wrong court -- a federal court in Florida -- because Soundgarden is actually based in Seattle.

Vicky claims that's nonsense because the songs were created in Florida by Chris.

We reached out to Soundgarden ... so far, radio silence.

Megan Thee Stallion will NOT be releasing new music this week, after all ... not if her label gets its way, and 1501 Certified Entertainment wants an emergency court hearing on the matter.

Label honcho Carl Crawford just filed a motion to dissolve the temporary restraining order Megan got earlier this week ... which allowed her to drop new music on Friday. However, the label says she had no right even taking them to court in the first place.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Crawford says Megan's contract stipulates all disputes between her and the label must be handled in arbitration. Coincidentally, this is the very contract Megan complained was one-sided and unfair when she signed it as a naive 20-year-old.

He also claims Megan's guilty of booking several gigs without its approval -- but what really chaps Crawford's britches (it's a Texas case, after all) is her plan to release music on March 6.

In docs, 1501 Certified says she can't drop that music without its approval ... it's part of her contract. Even if she wants out of it, it remains in place for now, and Crawford says he's exercising his contractual right to control distribution of her music.

Crawford's also not buying Meg's claim that "disappointment of her fans" is a basis for getting a restraining order to release the music.

He's demanding a hearing today in Harris County, Texas ... so a judge can hear the label's side of the story before the music comes out on Friday. No word yet if that hearing will be granted.

Tim Story, the successful director of the 'Ride Along' franchise, is facing a lawsuit over a tragedy in his backyard ... the death of a 2-year-old boy in his hot tub.

The child's father, Miguel Raygoza-Castillo, is suing over what went down Nov. 18 at Story's L.A. home. According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Miguel's son, named I'M, fell onto an un-fenced spa tub and suffered fatal injuries.

The boy's father says Story's hot tub not only lacked proper fencing, but it was also missing warnings and alarms. In the suit, he also claims there was no alarm to detect someone falling into the water. He claims Story -- who's also directed "Barbershop" and the 'Think Like a Man' flicks -- didn't have an exit alarm on his home's back door to the hot tub area.

According to a GoFundMe page started for I'M ... the child was hospitalized for 4 days before his family made the difficult decision to turn off life support.

Raygoza-Castillo is suing Story and his wife for damages including medical, funeral and burial expenses ... as well as pain, suffering and the emotional distress from losing a child.

G-Eazy and Three 6 Mafia's Juicy J shoulda known better when they ripped off the work of some Southern hip-hop legends ... so claim those artists in a new lawsuit.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Memphis-based DJ Squeeky and Gaylon Love say they own the rights to "Looking 4 Da Chewin" and claim G-Eazy's "No Limit" straight-up sampled their 1993 Southern hip-hop classic.

Squeeky and Love claim G-Eazy never got permission to sample the track and are suing for copyright infringement. They also want a slice of the profits from G-Eazy's "No Limit" track, which enjoyed mega-success when it dropped in 2017 as the lead single in G-Eazy's fourth studio album, "The Beautiful & Damned."

It's interesting ... "No Limit" features Cardi B and A$AP Rocky, and the remix also includes French Montana, Belly and Juicy J. But, Squeeky and Love are only going after G-Eazy and Juicy J.

The Memphis artists' lawyer Alcide Honore tells us, for starters, G-Eazy's getting sued because it's his track. As for Juicy J ... he hails from Memphis, so he should have known he was rapping over a popular Southern hip-hop track that first hit the scene in the early '90s. We're told other parties could be added to the lawsuit down the road, but for now, the legal team says G-Eazy and Juicy J bear responsibility.

It's been a rough week for Juicy J and counterpart DJ Paul ... both of whom were slapped with separate lawsuits earlier this week.

Nicki Minaj's husband's past is coming back to bite him in the ass -- he's been arrested by U.S. Marshals on an indictment for failing to register as a sex offender ... TMZ has learned.

Kenneth Petty was in federal custody Wednesday -- we're told he turned himself into the Marshals. According to court docs, he'll face a judge later today. Petty moved to California in July 2019, but according to law enforcement he got pulled over in Beverly Hills in November and that's when his legal troubles started.

We're told Bev Hills PD made a traffic stop on November 15 and determined Petty was a registered sex offender in New York state but had not registered in California ... as required.

He was arrested and released on a $20,000 bond. The L.A. County D.A. charged him for failing to register as a sex offender.

It appears he still didn't check in after that because now the feds are in on the case. He was indicted in federal court for the same thing ... failing to register.

As we've reported, Kenneth's rap sheet includes a 1995 conviction for first-degree attempted rape. He served almost 4 years in NY state prison for the crime and was required to register as a sex offender. If convicted on the federal charge for failure to register, Kenneth faces up to 10 years in prison.

TMZ broke the story ... Nicki and Kenneth hit up the Bev Hills Courthouse to get a marriage license in July ... around the time the couple moved to Cali.

We've reached out to Nicki's camp for comment, so far no word back.

Journey's leader, Neal Schon, is sending his bassist and drummer on their "Separate Ways" ... for allegedly trying to hijack the group name in a scheme that's landed them all in court.

Lead guitarist Neal, a founding member, and keyboard player Jonathan Cain are suing their long-time bassist Russ Valory and drummer Steve Smith, claiming they tried to take control of the band's corporation called Nightmare Productions, Inc.

According to the lawsuit, Russ and Steve allegedly thought the move would give them access to the "Journey" name, thereby allowing them to make millions for themselves after retiring. Neal and Jonathan say their rhythm section recently decided to hang it up.

Ill-conceived plan though, according to docs, obtained by TMZ. Neal and Jonathan say the band name is already licensed to another corporation called "Elmo" ... which was set up by former lead singer Steve Perry, Neal and Jonathan back in 1985.

Bottom line ... Russ and Steve are out in the cold, as far as making money off the band's name -- and now they've got this lawsuit on their hands too, for breach of fiduciary duty. Neal and Johnathan -- who co-wrote most of the band's huge hits with Perry -- also want damages of at least $10 million.

Journey's scheduled to tour this summer with The Pretenders -- so expect to see a new drummer and bass player on stage if you're going.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous mug and iconic voice are being ripped-off by a Russian robot manufacturer, and he wants more than $10 million to make it right ... or for the robot to go hasta la vista.

Arnold's company is suing Promobot, which makes autonomous service robots consumers can customize to look human. The product's called the Android Robo-C, and can be made to look like a person of your choosing.

The problem -- according to the suit -- Arnold did not give permission to Promobot to use HIS likeness to promote it, and is generally very strict about his face being used for ads because "such activity diminishes his hard-earned and well-deserved reputation as a major motion picture star." However, according to the lawsuit ... he's become the "unwilling face" of the product.

Arnold's company claims Promobot is using the Arnold-like model at public events to promote and market the Android Robo-C. Even more egregiously ... Promobot allegedly asked Arnold to pose for a photo with its robot while he was in St. Petersberg to deliver a speech in 2019 ... and he refused.

However, according to the suit, Promobot kept using the Arnold android ... including at CES in Vegas in January. At that point, Arnold's attorney -- legal pit bull Marty Singer -- fired off a cease and desist letter to the robot company demanding it stop.

Singer made it clear to Promobot ... he's won cases like this in the past, including scoring a judgment for more than $2.5 mil for Priscilla Presley, who's "far less commercially valuable" than Schwarzenegger. In fact, Arnold says he would not have accepted anything less than $10 million for using his likeness.

Promobot allegedly assured Arnold's team it would cease using the Arnold-bot ... it popped up again at the New York Toy Fair at the end of February. Hence, a lawsuit's now been filed for misappropriation of Arnold's right of publicity.

DaBaby's no longer sweating a battery case in Miami ... TMZ's learned prosecutors are dropping the charge but the rapper's not exactly out of the woods just yet.

The Miami State Attorney's Office says it dropped the battery charge against DB claiming one of the alleged victims would NOT cooperate. That alleged victim is a friend of concert promoter, Kenneth Carey. You'll recall Carey was the guy who got beat up and allegedly robbed on video. The other alleged victim is not seen in the video.

Even though the battery charge has been tossed, cops are still investigating the alleged robbery of Carey ... so DaBaby could potentially be charged.

TMZ broke the story ... Carey sued DaBaby claiming DB and his crew beat him to a pulp and in the process jacked his phone, money and credit card over a business deal gone wrong. That lawsuit -- Carey's suing for more than $6 mil -- is still active.

'Real Housewives' star Jules Wainstein has something her estranged husband wants -- a lock of hair -- because he wants to prove she's abusing drugs, claiming it made her crazy.

Michael Wainstein ran to civil court shortly after Jules was arrested last week on domestic violence charges in Florida -- asking a judge for a restraining order against his wife. He also wants to get her tested and treated for what he says is a very dangerous addiction.

Per the docs, obtained by TMZ, Michael claims Jules poses a serious risk to not only him ... but to their two minor children as well. He says one of the kids told him they saw their mom taking pills before she allegedly went on a mini-rampage during a custody exchange ... for which she was ultimately arrested, booked and charged with battery.

BTW, Michael also says in the docs ... one night while they were in NYC, Jules came home visibly high on cocaine and repeatedly punched Michael in the face when he confronted  her about it. Just another reason he's concerned now.

Mike claims he's aware of a past drug problem she's had with Rx pills, including improper use of Adderall. Because of "bizarre behavior" Michael says Jules displays in front of the children -- including allegedly using a baseball bat on his car, licking his window, punching Mike, etc. -- he believes the court needs to step in here.

Specifically, he wants hizzoner to force Jules to submit hair follicles for testing to see if she is, in fact, on something ... and if so, Mike wants her ordered into a treatment program.

This is all part of their divorce case, which was filed in New York. The restraining order and battery cases are in Florida where the kids were handed off from father to mother, and Michael ran to a Florida court for an emergency restraining order that's tied to the divorce case.

William Shatner and his ex-wife are divvying up all their assets, and we mean ALL -- because the settlement covers everything from dogs to land, to ashes of exes and yes ... horse semen.

As you know, Bill filed to divorce Elizabeth back in December and it's now been finalized, but they had plenty to split up. We'll start with their livestock. Capt. Kirk is boldly leaving with 2 horses ... Renaissance Man's Medici and Powder River Shirley. He also gets 2 dogs ... Macchiato and Double Espresso.

Elizabeth also gets 2 horses ... Belle Reve's So Photogenic and Pebbles (they kinda mailed it in with that name). No dogs for her.

Shatner's love for his horses is well known -- he breeds them after all, and he made sure to cover that in the docs. For instance, he gets "all horse semen" and horse equipment. Yes, that's spelled out in black and white.

On to their real estate and cars. Elizabeth gets a Malibu Cove home, another in Versailles, Kentucky and she keeps her share off her family's farm in Indiana. In her garage, you'll find a 2007 BMW X5, a 2015 Mercedes Benz ML65, and a 2004 Ford Explorer.

Shatner keeps a Studio City home and a ranch in Three Rivers, CA near Sequoia National Park. However, they've agreed that Elizabeth gets the right to "occasionally harvest some fruit" from trees on the ranch. It's clearly a special property to both of them ... because she can also go there to visit the ashes of her first husband, and some horse graves.

The divorce also spells out visitation rights -- they didn't have kids together, but they've got lots of animals. Elizabeth can visit with Macchiato, Double Espresso and some of the horses ... as long as she gives Bill "advance notice."

As for the boring stuff -- AKA money -- he's already paid her one lump sum of $2 million in spousal support, and that was spelled out in their prenup.

The judge has already signed off, so that's a wrap on marriage #4 for Bill and #2 for Elizabeth. They're both single and ready to mingle!!!

Three 6 Mafia's DJ Paul just got hit with his second lawsuit in as many days ... and this time Trippie Redd's caught up in the legal mess over a 'Hit' song.

Reginald Boyland, the man behind On The Strength Records, is suing DJ Paul over Trippie Redd's track "Death" ... which dropped last November. Confused? Let us explain.

Boyland says, in legal docs obtained by TMZ, "Death" sampled DJ Paul's famous 1997 "Hit a Mutha****a." Big mistake, according to Boyland, because he claims Paul no longer owns the rights to 'Hit.'

In the suit, Boyland says he got rights to the song in a 2015 settlement with Paul. He had sued DJP claiming 'Hit' sampled his track, "Pimps In The House."

Fast-forward to Trippie Redd's "Death" -- and Boyland's now calling out Trippie for never getting permission from him to sample 'Hit.'

Boyland says he'd already informed Paul and Trippie they owe him some "Death" dough but got no response. He's suing for copyright infringement and wants a slice of the profits from Trippie's track.

As we first reported ... a group of Memphis-based artists are also suing DJ Paul and Juicy J in a separate lawsuit for allegedly stiffing them on various songs.

"Little Women: LA" star Christy Gibel is officially -- and happily -- single with a few weeks to spare in her pregnancy ... but there are still some doggone issues to hash out.

Christy and Todd Gibel are no longer husband and wife after the judge signed off on dissolving their marriage ... making them both single in the eyes of the law. She also has restored her name to Christy Lynn McGinity, her maiden name ... so another W there.

Sources close to McGinity tell TMZ ... even though she wanted an annulment, she's satisfied with the divorce ruling because she just wants to be done with Todd before the birth of her child, whose due date is April 1.

As we told you ... Christy moved on quickly following her split from Todd with a new guy named Gonzo, and the 2 announced they were expecting soon after. We're told Christy's excited to start a fresh life with her boyfriend and their baby ... who they plan to name Violet Eva Carazo.

However, Christy and Todd still need to determine how to divvy up their marital assets ... including a dog named Elvis.

Sources close to Todd tell us ... he wants Elvis back in the divorce settlement. Problem is -- according to Todd's side -- the dog was surrendered to Vanderpump Dogs, where they originally bought it, without his knowledge ... and then Vanderpump adopted Elvis back out to one of Christy's family members.

We're told Todd believes Elvis is marital property and should be returned to him, and Vanderpump Dogs has apparently agreed to this if Christy's family member returns the dog.

Our sources say Todd's holding out hope the court will award Elvis to him as part of the final divorce judgment. But as for Christy's side, she's telling friends the family pet was in her name, not Todd's.

A judge in the college admissions scandal says USC's been covering up the fact it gives preference to students tied to influential people, and a new court order seems to be good news for Lori Loughlin and her co-defendants.

The judge is ordering USC to turn over unredacted documents in the college admissions scandal. According to the judge, the University has been misleading the court by blacking out certain information in documents it's produced.

The judge says prosecutors have argued students trying to get into USC do NOT get preferential treatment if influential people advocate for them. However, the judge says she's now seen unredacted USC emails which "directly contradict" that claim from prosecutors.

While the court had previously allowed USC to redact names of applicants and school officials -- it's now changing that because it sees the information is critical to defense attorneys in the case.

Lori and Mossimo Giannulli's attorneys, along with other defendants, have argued USC institutionally gives preference to so-called "side door" applicants -- people with money, power and influence.

The judge seems to be saying there are emails, and other documents, that could support that ... and USC needs to be more forthcoming with admissions info.

Megan Thee Stallion says certain execs at her record label have a rep for "bullying and strong-armed tactics," but she's taking a stand by taking them to court ... and she's already won a major battle.

Meg went on the offensive by filing suit Monday against 1501 Certified Entertainment and its honcho, Carl Crawford. As you know, she's pissed about the contract she signed with the label back when she was 20, and claims it's now blocking her from releasing new music because she wants to renegotiate.

A district judge in Harris County Texas granted Megan a temporary restraining order which prevents her label from blocking the music she plans to drop on Friday.

In the suit, Megan lays out the most outrageous terms of her contract, at least in her eyes. For instance, she claims the deal calls for 1501 Certified to get 60% of her recording income. The remaining 40% goes to her, but she has to use that to pay engineers, mixers and featured artists who work on the songs.

Point is ... MTS claims there's a very small slice of pie left for her when it's all said and done. She also says her live gigs currently benefit the label more than her.

According to the suit, the contract calls for all money from Megan's touring and live performances to be paid directly to 1501 Certified. She says the label is supposed to give her a proper accounting of what she's owed -- but claims what they've provided is incomplete, and "purposefully and deceptively vague."

Megan also claims Crawford has been using his relationship with Rap-a-Lot Records founder J. Prince to intimidate people in the industry. In the suit, she claims Crawford pressured a producer to hand over beats by saying Prince would be pissed. Megan claims, "Prince is notorious in the industry for strong-armed intimidation tactics, and the comment was taken as a physical threat of harm."

Megan thinks Prince has had a hand in an online smear campaign against her ... including the recent story about her getting arrested 5 years ago.

All of these headaches simply aren't worth it to Megan, who says in exchange for signing the contract she got a measly $10,000 advance. Hence, her desire to renegotiate.

She's suing Carl and 1501 Certified Entertainment for at least $1 million in damages. Megan is not suing J. Prince.

BTW, the temporary restraining order she got also prevents the label from attacking or abusing her on social media. Megan's attorney, Richard Busch, tells TMZ, "We are very happy the Court granted our TRO and thrilled that the world should be able to now hear Megan's new music on March 6. We will now proceed with the other claims set forth in the [lawsuit]."

Three 6 Mafia's DJ Paul and Juicy J have been staying fly -- musically speaking -- on the backs of other people's work ... so claim a group of artists now suing the MCs.

A bunch of Memphis-based artists are going after the legendary hip-hop group, alleging they committed "over 150 independent acts of copyright infringement from more than 100 individual sound recordings."

One of the many offending tracks listed is "MEMPHIS." The plaintiffs claim Three 6 Mafia didn't give them credit for some of the lyrics. Ditto for "Tear Da Club Up."

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the group of artists say they came up in the Memphis music scene in the 90s when Three 6 Mafia was also trying to make a name for itself. The group claims shortly after they all met they started collaborating -- producing, recording, writing lyrics for Three 6 Mafia -- but never got a penny for their work.

The artists claim Three 6 Mafia was just one of several musical groups DJ Paul and Juicy J created to profit off the group's work. The artists claim this led to DJ Paul and Juicy J making millions from their work.