Legal

Elon Musk's father fancies himself a real-life Dirty Harry or Rambo-like figure -- he's recounting how he once took out a mob of home intruders ... all by himself.

The way Errol Musk describes the 1998 incident really does sound like a Hollywood action movie -- he and his then 6-year-old daughter, Ali, were in his South African home ... and while she was taking a bath, he encountered 7 armed men in another part of the house.

The 76-year-old told The Sun the gang immediately opened fire on him, but just like in the movies ... he miraculously dodged all the bullets, retreated to a bedroom and grabbed a .357 Magnum handgun.

Errol says his gun was loaded with hollow point bullets, and his very first shot went straight through one intruder's head, and the shrapnel entered another's chest. He says both men were killed. At that point, he says the rest of them fled, but he managed to shoot one more in a hallway.

Completing the scene ... Errol says Ali -- who'd be in the bathtub -- came out after hearing the shootout, and clung to her father's leg. Mr. "Lethal Weapon" says he was acquitted of manslaughter charges for the incident, on the grounds of self-defense.

Errol's heroic tale comes on the heels of Elon recently tweeting a reminder to the world that he and his father are estranged.

The billionaire tycoon said his dad ran out of money in the '90s, and he and his brother financially supported him on the condition that he "not do bad things." Unfortunately, according to Elon, he did do bad things.

Elon's point seemed to be dad isn't keeping up his end of the bargain.

As for Errol's marksmanship ... he says he once won the South African National Defence Force's shooting championships.

Tom Girardi and Erika Jayne's trove of fancy schmancy stuff up for sale at their court-ordered estate auction were a huge hit ... 'cause they just raked in some big bucks!!

The ex-couple's fire sale was launched September 21 and lasted about 5 hours ... designed to pay down Tom's whopping bankruptcy debt. Needless to say, it generated worldwide interest, especially with Erika's 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' fans.

John Moran Auctioneers, which helmed the online/in-house auction, has now released the results. In total, 253 pieces sold for a grand total of $493,641. Not too shabby, but it's hard to fathom it'll make much of a dent in Tom's overall debt, estimated at $101 million last year.

Tom came under scrutiny after allegations surfaced his old law firm mismanaged tons of client assets for their own use. Erika tried to distance herself from the whole mess.

Some of the hottest items hawked from the divorced couple's Pasadena mansion included a J. Seward Johnson Jr. bronze sculpture ($13,750), a black lacquered cabinet with mythological oil paintings ($11,875), a black lacquered Chinoiserie-style console table with gilt highlights ($10,000) and two Michael Taylor “Montecito” outdoor garden armchairs ($7,150).

Tom's cherished sports memorabilia also got some love from one of the more than 8,000 bidders. A historic 1993 Spaulding NBA Finals Ball signed by Michael Jordan sold for $4,688.

Chris D'Elia's been accused of threatening to share intimate videos of a woman in a new restraining order, but not only does the comedian claim he's never met his accuser, he says she's also been sending him threatening audio and text messages since earlier this year.

TMZ has obtained the docs, filed by Caroline Schmitz in L.A., in which she claims she and D'Elia met back in 2017 when she was working as a comedian. Schmitz says she and Chris hooked up several times, and then heard from him again when he contacted her through OnlyFans in May.

As for the communications on OnlyFans, Schmitz says a profile -- who she believes D'Elia was behind -- threatened to post intimate videos she'd recorded and told her she needed to get out of Los Angeles.

Schmitz says she believes D'Elia was behind the OF account because she, "recognized his style of writing." She also says she believes Chris hacked her phone.

D'Elia's attorney, Andrew Brettler, tells TMZ, "These accusations are as fantastical as they are defamatory. Chris has never met this person. But over the last year, she has sent him increasingly disturbing text and audio messages, including making threats against him and his family. If anyone is going to get a restraining order here, it’s going to be Chris.”

We've obtained some of the many messages Chris says Schmitz sent to him through Instagram where you hear a woman rambling at times about being a stripper. He also says she messaged him, "Have me killed or leave me the f*** alone - I'd die to get the hell away from your evil ass."

It looks like MacKenzie Scott has already settled up with her soon-to-be ex-husband ... because they signed an agreement over who gets what.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, MacKenzie and Dan Jewett signed a "separation contract." It's something we don't see much, but it appears it memorializes exactly what Dan will get in their divorce.

As we reported, MacKenzie filed for divorce Monday ... after only a year-and-a-half of marriage.

MacKenzie was married to Jeff Bezos for 25 years. They divorced in 2019.

MacKenzie walked away with $37 billion, and pledged half to charity.

It's almost certain 52-year-old MacKenzie and 47-year-old Dan, a former science teacher, signed a prenup, so the separation contract probably substantially or wholly mirrors the prenup.

"Big Brother" winner Mike "Boogie" Malin is in legal hot water ... a California judge issued a warrant after Mike failed to show up to a court date, and now his probation's revoked.

Sources with knowledge tell TMZ ... Mike was MIA from a Wednesday court hearing related to his felony stalking case... so the judge issued a bench warrant, set Mike's bail at $20k and revoked his probation.

It sounds like Mike blew his second chance here ... we're told he was due in court two weeks ago for a "proof of live-in program" hearing but he didn't show up then either, but his public defender took the blame and the judge moved the court date to Wednesday ... but Mike was a no-show again.

We're told Malin, who won season 7 of the reality series, had a new public defender Wednesday, who told the court she emailed Mike and he was aware he was supposed to show up ... but when the judge told her to call Mike, he didn't pick up the phone.

According to our sources, Mike's probation officer said Malin told him Tuesday he would be in court Wednesday ... but after an hour of waiting around for him at the courthouse, the judge called the case and issued the bench warrant.

TMZ broke the story ... Mike pled no contest to felony stalking last year in a case involving his former 'BB' buddy Dr. Will Kirby, and Malin was sentenced to 2 years probation and ordered to pay Will more than $44k.

We're told Mike's latest public defender told the judge his client doesn't have the money to pay the restitution.

MacKenzie Scott did not have chemistry, apparently, with her science teacher husband ... because the former Mrs. Jeff Bezos is ending her second marriage.

MacKenzie beelined it to a Washington state court Monday and filed to divorce Dan Jewett a little more than a year after they got hitched ... according to the NY Times.

She walked away from her marriage to Jeff with nearly $37 billion, pledging half to charity, so it's a good bet MacKenzie and Dan had a prenup.

MacKenzie's author page on Amazon already scrubbed all references to Dan, who used to be proudly mentioned, and her giving pledge page no longer features his name.

As we reported ... MacKenzie and Dan, a chemistry teacher at her kids' private school in Washington state, announced in March 2021 they had tied the knot. They did not have any children together.

MacKenzie was married to Jeff from 1993 to 2019 ... and she was the first to remarry after their divorce. Now, she's also the first to divorce again.

R. Kelly's not just going to prison for his sex crimes in New York, but it also looks like he'll be ordered to pay a fortune to some of his victims ... including picking up the tabs to deal with their STDs and their psychological trauma in the aftermath.

There was a restitution hearing in Brooklyn Wednesday, where a judge weighed in on what Kelly will have to cough up, money-wise, to a couple of his victims in that case ... in which he's already been convicted and sentenced to prison.

For a victim named "Jane," the judge indicated Kelly will be ordered to fork over around $300K to cover treatment related to herpes, as well as psychological care that she apparently requires. Ditto for another victim in that case named "Stephanie," although a firm number hasn't been decided in her situation just yet ... the judge put a pin in it and will circle back later.

A 3rd victim, "Sonja," was denied restitution. So, at this point, it looks like Kelly will be on the hook for hundreds of thousands ... and possibly more.

Remember, Kelly's already been handed down a sentence of 30 years behind bars in this case -- where he was alleged to have committed federal sex crimes.

He was also recently convicted in his federal case out of Chicago -- in which he was accused of similar crimes -- and there could be restitution in that case, as well.

Kanye West has hired yet another divorce lawyer, this time tapping into the same attorney who represented Melinda Gates in her multi-billion dollar divorce case with Bill Gates.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Ye's retained Robert Stephan Cohen of Cohen Clair Lans Greifer Thorpe & Rottenstreich LLP as his sixth divorce attorney in the back and forth with Kim Kardashian. Interestingly enough, Cohen is based in New York, and the Kim divorce is in Los Angeles, so Ye's also bringing on Nicholas A. Salick of Salick Family Law Group, APLC as his counsel in California.

Not only has Cohen represented Melinda, but he's also had clients like Rupert Murdoch, Chris Rock, Athina Onassis and more.

TMZ broke the story, Kim filed for divorce in November, and a judge declared her legally single back in March, after she filed docs stating, "I very much desire to be divorced." The couple still has to iron out custody and property details.

We know Kim and Kanye already had a prenup in place, so property shouldn't be an issue. As far as custody, that seems to be settled too, as Kanye recently said Kim's got the kids about 80% of the time and mostly raises them.

Two men have been charged in connection with an alleged armed robbery that took place in the middle of a church service which was stopped short while two men allegedly jacked some jewelry from the bishop during their live stream.

2 men from Brooklyn -- Juwan Anderson and Say-Quan Pollack -- were charged with armed robbery for their roles in the July 24 incident ... according to Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York on Tuesday.

Peace's statement reads, "As alleged, the defendants brought guns into a place of worship, stealing from two members of the clergy, and terrifying the congregation in the process" ... adding, "to commit such an act during a religious service is incomprehensible."

Peace notes a 3rd suspect is still at large.

The incident was caught on camera during the service's live stream ... showing Bishop Lamor Whitehead stopping mid-service and quickly getting on the ground -- as two men begin to take items off his person.

Whitehead tells TMZ ... "Today is the start of healing. We will let the justice system continue to work as I continue to do what God has called me to do."

The prosecutor who put Jeffrey Dahmer behind bars is pushing back against the narrative Netflix puts forth in its new show -- namely, that cops ignored obvious clues because the case involved gay and/or Black people.

Former Milwaukee D.A. Michael McCann -- who personally prosecuted Dahmer in the '90s -- tells TMZ ... the notion that MPD officers turned a blind eye to Dahmer's victims because of their race or sexual orientation is ludicrous, despite what "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" portrays.

The true crime drama is getting a lot of buzz right now, and while McCann says he hasn't seen it yet ... he's aware of how Netflix and co. are playing things -- very anti-cop and leaning into perceived racial and homophobic bias throughout the episodes.

McCann is flatly denying that characterization, saying neither race nor sexual orientation had influenced how police investigated Dahmer. He insists if they'd known they had a serial killer in their midst, they would've moved in immediately to put a stop to it ... regardless of the victims' backgrounds.

He explains Dahmer's M.O. simply didn't allow for them to discover the truth any sooner than they did in 1991 -- when one of his victims escaped and brought cops to Dahmer's apartment.

McCann notes Dahmer didn't leave a lot of obvious evidence lying around, and covered his tracks well.

He also thinks there's something to the fact that Dahmer's victims were men -- saying women who went missing back then were investigated by assuming the worst. On racism and homophobia generally, he acknowledges it's been a problem historically in law enforcement ... but is still adamant that it played no role in how officers went about handling Dahmer.

Of course, not everyone will buy what McCann's selling here ... especially seeing how Glenda Cleveland -- played by Niecy Nash -- alerted Milwaukee PD to Dahmer's behavior many times before he was eventually captured. Many suspect cops wrote her off because she was Black.

Selma Blair and her ex-boyfriend have dropped the civil restraining orders they have against each other, but Selma is still cooperating with prosecutors in the criminal case against ex Ron Carlson.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Selma and Ron each dismissed their civil restraining orders against each other. On the surface, this may look like they've made peace, but far from it. Ron was arrested for domestic violence and the L.A. City Attorney has the case. When Ron was arrested, a criminal protective order was put in place where Ron could have no contact with Selma. That expired March 1st.

TMZ broke the story ... Selma beelined it to court back in March and got a temporary order of protection against Ron, claiming he attacked her, on the heels of his arrest for felony domestic violence with corporal injury.

Not long after Selma got a temporary restraining order against him, Ron got a TRO of his own ... claiming Selma was the aggressor during the incident. He said she struck his eye with her arm and scratched his nose, eyes and cheeks. Ron denied attacking her and claimed self-defense.

Nonetheless, Selma made a surprise appearance at last night's Emmy Awards to present.

As for the situation with Ron, it was a pretty nasty situation all around ...  and we're told in no uncertain terms, they're not back together.

Sean "Diddy" Combs is being sued by Kim Porter's niece ... who claims she was wrongfully terminated after she told him she got pregnant and needed to take maternity leave.

In legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a woman referred to as Jane Roe -- who identifies herself as Kim's niece -- is suing Diddy, Tri Star Sports, and others, claiming she became a full-time nanny to Diddy's twins after Kim passed away in November 2018. Jane says she was then fired 2 years later when she requested maternity leave.

She claims the day after Kim passed away, Diddy asked her to live at his estate and become a full-time nanny to his twins, Jessie James and D'Lila -- adding she "was responsible for the twins' 24/7 care."

Jane says she got pregnant in August 2020 and told Diddy she needed to take maternity leave ... but says Diddy was "infuriated" and terminated her employment around the time she was set to begin her time off.

Roe claims she was told through Diddy's reps she was canned because she was pregnant and unmarried -- which "purportedly set a bad example" for his daughters.

She's seeking unspecified damages.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim was found dead at her Toluca Lake home in 2018, it was later revealed she died from a form of pneumonia.

Shakira may soon have her day in court ... because a judge in Spain has given the green light for the singer to stand trial on tax fraud charges.

According to reports, the judge ruled Tuesday prosecutors can move forward with a trial for the singer on 6 counts of tax fraud -- Shakira is accused of not coughing up 14.5 million euros -- or about $13.9 million -- in taxes for income she earned between 2012 and 2014.

Prosecutors believe Shakira was spending more than half her time in Spain during those years -- meaning authorities believe she should've paid up, even though her official residence was in the Bahamas.

As we reported, prosecutors are hoping to get an 8-year prison sentence and a large fine if she's found guilty of the charges.

Shakira's denying having to pay up, though ... recently telling ELLE, "I've paid everything they claimed I owed even before they filed a lawsuit. So as of today, I owe zero to them."

She goes on to say she's confident she has enough evidence to prove she's innocent.

Shakira's also dealing with the fallout from her split with her ex, Gerard Piqué ... the exes recently went to their son's baseball game, but kept their distance from each other the entire game.

A rep for Shakira tells TMZ ... "Shakira has always cooperated and abided by the law, demonstrating impeccable conduct as individual and a taxpayer, and faithfully following the counsel of PriceWaterhouse Coopers, a prestigious and globally recognized tax firm."

Elon Musk's legal team was all set to grill Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal Monday -- but it never happened, and now EM's team is considering filing action to hold Agrawal in contempt.

Sources with direct knowledge of the case tell TMZ ... Elon's attorneys flew out to the west coast Monday to conduct Agrawal's deposition in Twitter's lawsuit against Elon for backing out of his purchase of the company. Sources close to Elon say Parag unexpectedly no-showed, but folks at Twitter say that's BS.

Our Twitter sources say both sides agreed on Sunday that Monday's deposition would be rescheduled for personal reasons, and will, instead, happen later this week.

Now, our Elon sources say his legal team might ask the judge to hold Parag in contempt for missing the depo ... which, if successful, could mean consequences even before the trial, which is set to begin Oct. 17.

Other reports suggested Elon was also supposed to sit for a depo Monday in Delaware, but Elon's attorney, Alex Spiro, tells TMZ, "It's a lie." He also insists the Parag's depo was still scheduled to go down Monday in San Francisco.

Remember, this is all about Twitter trying to force Elon to buy the company like he said he would ... only to then reverse course when he claimed Twitter wasn't being forthright about spambot data and security-related problems with the platform.

Poppy Montgomery and her husband are allegedly stiffing their former housekeeper ... and now she's suing.

The "Without a Trace" star and her hubby, Shawn Sanford, just got hit with a lawsuit from their hired help, who says working for the couple was anything but a dream job.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the housekeeper claims she worked for Poppy and Shawn in their Pacific Palisades home from 2014 until May 2022, and she says the couple still owes her a bunch of money.

Poppy and Shawn's housekeeper says they kept her so busy cleaning, cooking and taking care of their kids, she often couldn't take her legally required breaks ... claiming the couple owes her more than $48,250 for missed meal and rest periods.

The housekeeper also says Poppy and Shawn owe her more than $36,000 in unpaid wages plus nearly $7k in overtime.

On top of all this, she's looking for thousands more in various penalties under California's labor laws.

Alec Baldwin could be facing criminal charges in connection to the fatal 'Rust' shooting -- because the D.A. is asking New Mexico for help in financing several potential prosecutions.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies reportedly filed an emergency request last week, asking the New Mexico Board of Finance for extra funds to assist in bringing up to four possible criminal cases that may materialize from her office's investigation into the death of Halyna Hutchins.

Carmack-Altwies got half of what she wanted --  according to the Santa Fe New Mexican, she was awarded $317,000 in relief ... although she had asked for $635k -- which is what her office estimated it would cost to handle the would-be cases.

The D.A. has since said that she'll be seeking the remainder of the dough through a special appropriation request -- which suggests she may actually need the full amount to bring any charges related to the fatal incident on the 'Rust' set.

Now, while the D.A. isn't definitively naming names in any potential charges -- her office is explicitly saying Baldwin could be on the chopping block. The docs they filed, cited by SFNM, reportedly say ... "One of the possible defendants is well known movie actor Alec Baldwin."

It's unclear what sort of charges he (or others) might face, but the D.A. told local media she was considering all homicide statutes as well as gun statutes under the NM criminal code.

Baldwin has maintained that Halyna's death was an accident, and not his fault in the slightest ... deflecting blame to other crew members, whom he says should've checked the gun to make sure it wasn't loaded and was functioning properly. He claims he didn't pull the trigger, but rather ... that the gun went off on its own after he pulled back the hammer.

A couple things to note about the D.A.'s move here -- Carmack-Altwies says she's expecting the final report from the Sheriff's Office soon ... but it sounds like she's been in the loop along the way, because she's already signaling the exact number of possible defendants. Her request also notes this is urgent, and the cases would need to be dealt with immediately -- hence her emergency request for a ton of cash.