Legal

One of "Botched" star Terry Dubrow's patient is following through with a threat to sue him for what she claims was the butt lift from hell that nearly killed her.

Sandy Scoggins is suing Dubrow claiming she suffered through a gory aftermath from her July 2019 surgery. According to her lawsuit, multiple incisions opened up resulting in potentially deadly infections, unbearable pain and permanent disability.

In the suit, obtained by TMZ, Sandy says she went to Dubrow to get rid of loose skin and cellulite on her legs. She says she didn't want a huge scar on her leg, and that's why she chose Dubrow ... who, she claims, said he could improve her look by 85%.

However, her post-op issues started almost immediately. Sandy claims E! staffers, with cameras and lights, came in the operating room and scolded her to be quiet because they were filming. She claims she didn't consent for them to be there.

According to the suit, things took a gory and painful turn as soon as she tried to sit up in bed after surgery ... her incision busted open above her butt in the center of her back. The pics of her injuries -- included in the suit -- are gruesome ... showing an incision in her groin which she claims burst open, as well as the back incision.

She claims over the next 7 days ... the back incision tore open in several more places, and she had to go back into a hospital. Sandy says she developed a serious fever, had swelling in her abdomen, and the wound was infected. In the suit, she claims her attending physician paged Dubrow 4 times, but he never called back.

Sandy went home to Texas in August, but says the complications continued. According to the suit, doctors there said bacteria destroyed more than 4 inches of her flesh -- and they found a "tan and white synthetic mesh-like material" in her body, allegedly left behind from Dubrow's surgery. She's suing him, E! and others involved in her surgery for more than $10 million in damages.

As we reported ... Dubrow claimed last week Scoggins was trying to extort him for $5 million, and filed a motion to handle the case in arbitration.

Kanye West appears to have one final trick up his sleeve in the last-minute blitz of his presidential campaign ... let go, and let God.

Ye just filed legal docs to lock up the rights to "God Save America" -- which he wants to slap on shirts, sweaters and hoodies in what seems to be a final-ditch effort to push his message that was front-and-center in his 1st campaign ad ... bringing faith back to politics.

Unclear if this is a campaign slogan -- like Barack Obama's famous HOPE or Trump's Make America Great Again -- but it sure reads like one. The phrase also feels like a play on "God Bless America" ... both patriotic, but kinda sanctimonious too with "Save" swapped in.

Kanye filed for the trademark last week, which lines up closely with the release of his debut campaign ad ... something that just hit the ether Monday, 3 weeks before voters hit the polls on Nov. 3. Some people feel this ad -- and maybe now this new catchphrase he wants to lock up -- is too little, too late. That, or maybe just in time ... depends on who you ask.

Oklahoma City Thunder player Terrance Ferguson is being sued by a woman who claims Terrance and his brother sexually assaulted her in Sept. 2018 ... and she claims Ferguson shot video of the incident.

According to the lawsuit, filed in Oklahoma County District Court, the accuser claims she had been in a consensual sexual relationship with the NBA player ... but things soured when he tried to get her to participate in a threesome with his brother, Brandon Willis.

In her suit, obtained by TMZ Sports, the woman claims she repeatedly turned down the request for the threesome ... but in Sept. 2018, he entered the room while she was having sex with Ferguson and tried to join in.

The woman insists she did NOT give consent to Willis -- and "withdrew consent" from Ferguson ... but both men allegedly ignored her and continued to sexually assault her.

In her suit, the woman claims Willis began to vaginally penetrate her while Ferguson recorded the incident on his cell phone.

She claims Ferguson later distributed the footage via Snapchat.

The woman claims she suffered severe emotional trauma and prolonged pain and suffering. She's suing both men for sexual assault and battery, among other things but does not list a specific amount she's asking for.

As we previously reported, the woman went to cops in February 2020 -- and the Oklahoma City PD launched an investigation. But ultimately, no criminal charges were filed.

Ferguson, through his attorney, has previously denied wrongdoing regarding this incident.

A crazy jewelry heist scene on "NCIS: New Orleans" got way too real for the actors involved ... when real cops showed up and pointed their guns at them ... and now they're suing.

The 2 actors involved in the scene, along with the jewelry store owner, have filed a lawsuit in L.A against CBS for allegedly misleading them into shooting a realistic "guerrilla-style" armed robbery in broad daylight ... without proper permits or giving cops and neighbors a heads up.

The 3 men claim they were approached by 'NCIS' producers in October 2017 about filming the robbery, and they agreed to do it under the assumption it was a "traditional television shoot" ... with permits, police present and standard safety protocols.

Instead, the men accuse CBS of failing to notify local authorities and surrounding businesses that the armed robbery scene -- set in the middle of a busy New Orleans shopping center -- was not real ... and you can guess what happened.

According to the suit ... the owner of the store next to the jewelry store understandably called 911 after seeing the actors jump out of an unmarked van in ski masks carrying realistic-looking assault rifles while yelling, "This is a robbery!"

This prompted cops to race to the scene and point their very real weapons at the actors ... who say they could have been killed by the officers with one false move.

The 3 men claim the ordeal was terrifying and traumatizing ... and they're still feeling the psychological effects. They're suing CBS for damages.

The network's filed docs to get the case tossed out of California court, arguing that it involves events that took place in Louisiana, so that's where the case should have been filed. The plaintiffs' lawyers, Caleb Mason and Alan Jackson, disagree ... saying the show is produced by CBS in L.A.

Nathan Apodaca -- AKA the Fleetwood Mac "Dreams" skateboarder -- is putting on his legal face ... he wants a streetwear company to stop using his Doggface to sell merch.

Here's the deal ... Culture Kings is hawking a "Dreams Vintage T-Shirt" with the viral star's face on it for $36.95 ... but Nathan isn't feeling the good vibes with this merch, and says he's owed a piece of the pie.

Nathan's lawyer -- yep, he's got one now -- Jeffrey R. Klein of Fisher & Wolfe LLP, fired off a takedown notice, obtained by TMZ. It says Nathan owns the rights to the photograph on the shirt and claims Culture Kings had no right to make money off of it.

He's threatening a lawsuit if Culture Kings doesn't pull the shirt.

As you know ... Nathan's got a merch line of his own, and his personally designed line of Doggface clothing is selling like crazy after launching with UpMerch.com.

Ronni Hawk -- one of the stars of the Disney sitcom, "Stuck in the Middle" -- just got charged for bringing a knife to a nasty fight with her boyfriend.

TMZ has learned the L.A. City Attorney slapped Hawk with 3 misdemeanor counts for the July incident. She's now facing charges of domestic battery, assault with a deadly weapon and brandishing a knife.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Ronni and her BF, Miles Fallon, got into an argument, and things escalated when he bolted from the house. We're told Ronni grabbed a knife and chased after Miles while he was in the parking lot.

Cops were called to the scene and arrested Ronni.

TMZ broke the story when the 20-year-old was taken to jail. Our sources said officers who responded noticed Miles had visible injuries, including scratches.

Phil Collins is booting his ex-wife out of her crib ... because he says he owns it, and he's tired of her B.S.

Sources close to the famous drummer and singer-songwriter tell TMZ ... his long, rocky relationship with Orianne Cevey is officially over ... after all, she remarried in August, and he wants her out of his Florida house STAT.

We're told Phil's asked her to vacate and she's refused, and instead is threatening to release false and embarrassing accusations about him unless he renegotiates their 2008 divorce settlement.

For the record -- Collins paid Cevey a reported $46.76 million ... and our sources say he's not giving her another dime. He believes she squandered the fortune through a series of bad investments, along with an expensive divorce from the man she married after Phil.

Our sources say Phil gave his ex until 3 PM Friday to vacate, but she didn't, and he says she's now changed the security codes and has been unruly with the staff.

We're told Phil plans to file an eviction lawsuit as soon as courts open up next week.

In case you haven't gotten the picture, the 2 have a pretty wild history. They got married in the late '90s, had 2 sons together -- Nicholas and Mathew -- but filed for divorce in '06, shortly after the youngest son was born.

After the record settlement, Cevey got remarried to Charles Mejjati, but then divorced him to go back to Collins in 2016.

Things seemed to be pretty peachy up until a couple months ago, when we're told Orianne got married again to a man named Thomas Bates ... telling Phil she was just traveling to Las Vegas for business.

Our sources say Collins continues to fully support his sons -- all of their expenses are paid for through a fully-funded, irrevocable trust -- but he believes he's no longer financially on the hook to his ex-wife.

Ryan Leaf's domestic battery arrest was NOT substance abuse-related ... so says the ex-NFL QB's attorney, who tells TMZ Sports the former San Diego Charger is still "100% sober."

There had been some concern after 44-year-old Leaf -- who has battled drug and alcohol problems in the past -- had suffered a relapse that led to his arrest on May 22.

But, when we spoke to David Greenberg of the Law Offices of Soda & Greenberg ... he told us that just wasn't the case at all.

"He is 100% totally sober," Greenberg said of Leaf, "and spends a good part of every day over the last five years helping other people remain that way."

In fact, Greenberg says the whole alleged incident was nothing more than a "minor dispute."

"Nobody was injured," Greenberg said. "There was no allegation of any kind of weapon or anything like that."

"This was a couple that had a small minor dispute and it's unfortunate that it ended up in the criminal justice system."

We broke the story ... Leaf was booked on a domestic battery charge at around 2 p.m. on May 22 -- and was formally hit with two misdemeanor charges by prosecutors this week.

But, Leaf cut a plea deal in court Friday ... and ultimately avoided further jail time in the case.

Greenberg said Leaf and his family are happy to have all this now behind them ... adding Ryan is still committed to helping people with substance abuse problems daily.

Aaron Judge's girlfriend just cut a deal with prosecutors and pled guilty to DUI, TMZ Sports has learned ... 8 months after she name-dropped the New York Yankees star during an arrest in Arizona.

You'll recall ... Samantha Bracksieck -- who's had an on-and-off relationship with Judge for years -- was pulled over in Scottsdale back on Feb. 25 after cops say she was driving with her headlights off.

During the stop ... police video showed Bracksieck admitted to a cop she had wine at Mastro's Steakhouse prior to getting behind the wheel.

When officers eventually slapped the cuffs on her for alleged drunk driving ... that's when she became standoffish -- and ultimately brought Judge up to the officers.

"Do you know who my boyfriend is?!" Samantha said at one point during the arrest, before later telling another cop, "My boyfriend is not in a spot where I should be, like, having this happen."

Samantha added during the stop, "He's like a public figure. So, like, me being arrested for, like, having two glasses of wine is not OK."

Despite her bringing the MLB superstar into the situation ... law enforcement still ended up hitting Bracksieck with 5 charges, including extreme DUI -- which is classified as a BAC of .15-.19.

But, court records show Bracksieck cut a deal with prosecutors Wednesday ... agreeing to plead guilty to misdemeanor DUI.

In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop the rest of the charges, including the extreme DUI count.

According to court docs, Bracksieck was sentenced to 10 days in jail, though 9 were suspended and she was given credit for 1 day for time served. So, she won't get any additional time behind bars if she keeps her nose clean.

Bracksieck was also ordered to attend an alcohol abuse screening and complete any treatment recommendations. She was ordered to pay over $2,000 in fines and fees, as well.

Ex-NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf has been charged with 2 misdemeanors stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident back in May, TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... the QB was arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery in Palm Springs, CA on May 22.

Details about the specific allegations are still unclear -- but what is clear, prosecutors believe Leaf committed a crime that day.

According to court records, prosecutors are moving forward with 2 charges against Leaf -- 1 count of misdemeanor battery and 1 count of violating the personal liberty of the accuser ... aka false imprisonment (also a misdemeanor).

Both charges carry a maximum 1-year jail sentence.

44-year-old Leaf was listed on his booking sheet as 6'6", 250 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

Of course, Leaf was the #2 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft -- but his career flamed out fast and his life fell apart soon after.

Leaf has been arrested multiple times for things like drug possession and burglary ... but he had sobered up and became a program ambassador for an organization that runs sober houses in multiple cities including L.A. and N.Y.

Before the arrest, Leaf had been covering college football for ESPN.

Derek Chauvin -- the ex-cop accused of murdering George Floyd -- is now allowed to leave the state of Minnesota as he awaits trial ... after a judge ruled there are concerns over his safety.

The Hennepin County judge changed the conditions of Chauvin's bond Thursday, a day after he was released after posting $1 million. The former Minneapolis police officer can now reside in Minnesota OR a bordering state pending trial.

The decision came after the Department of Corrections provided evidence supporting safety concerns for Chauvin ... according to the judge's order.

Chauvin must report his new address to law enforcement and will remain under normal supervision as he awaits his murder trial ... which is scheduled for March.

Chauvin is required to obtain a cell phone and keep it on him at all times and answer all calls from the Minnesota Dept. of Corrections.

As for which states are contiguous to Minnesota -- North and South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin.

As we've reported ... Chauvin is facing charges of 2nd-degree after leaving his knee on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds back on May 25.

'Tiger King' star Doc Antle is facing a slew of felony and misdemeanor charges now for his treatment and transport of lion cubs.

Antle, the owner and founder of Myrtle Beach Safari, was indicted Friday in Virginia for felony wildlife trafficking after a months-long investigation found evidence he trafficked lion cubs between South Carolina and Virginia ... according to Virginia's Attorney General.

You'll recall ... Netflix's "Tiger King" documentary mentioned Antle's safari park was raided last December, and now it seems that raid was part of this investigation.

Antle is also charged with 1 felony count of conspiracy to sell or transport endangered wildlife, 4 misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act, and 9 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.

In addition, 2 of Antle's daughters, Tawny Antle and Tilakam Watterson, were charged with misdemeanors for animal cruelty and violating the Endangered Species Act.

The same investigation led to felony charges against Keith A. Wilson, owner of Wilson's Wild Animal Park. Authorities say they seized 119 animals, including lions, tigers, bears, camels, goats, water buffalo, and more from Wilson's roadside zoo and claim he got some of the animals from Antle.

Tory Lanez has been charged in connection with the shooting involving Megan Thee Stallion ... just weeks after the singer released an album claiming his innocence.

The L.A. County D.A.'s Office hit him with one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and one count of carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. The D.A. also alleges Tory inflicted great bodily injury.

If convicted, the rapper/singer faces up to 22 years and 8 months in prison.

As we reported ... the prosecutors had said they were mulling over a charge of felony assault with a firearm against Tory after Megan said she was shot back in July. Remember, Tory had been arrested but only charged with possession of a firearm. Prosecutors are now explicitly pointing the finger at Tory as the man who pulled the trigger ... leaving Meg with a gruesome foot injury.

It took Meg some time before she went public and accused Tory by name as the person who shot her. She didn't mince words saying ... "Yes, this n***a Tory shot me. You shot me, and you got your publicist and your people to these blogs lying and s**t, stop lying!"

As we reported, sources connected to Tory say there were mitigating circumstances -- and based on what we know ... we believe Tory's going to say it was an accidental shooting. Megan didn't help the D.A.'s effort with a social media caption -- which has since been deleted -- that said she had her back to the SUV when she was shot in the heel. That might indicate she didn't see it with her own eyes when Tory allegedly pulled the trigger.

You'll recall ... video of the incident showed cops pulling over the SUV in the Hollywood Hills -- with Tory lying face-down on the pavement and Megan gingerly tip-toeing ... leaving bloody footprints with each painful step.

Katy Perry just got a little peace of mind -- a judge granted a permanent restraining order against the man she claims has been stalking her and directing threats at her family.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... 38-year-old William Terry must stay 100 yards away from Katy, her fiance Orlando Bloom, their newborn baby girl, and Orlando's son Flynn from his previous marriage to Miranda Kerr for the next 3 years.

Terry's also prohibited from trying to contact Katy, her family or her staff on social media or posting anything about her ... and has to stay away from her concerts or live performances.

We broke the story ... Katy sought protection from Terry after he allegedly jumped the fence at her Beverly Hills property in September and was busted by cops for trespassing.

Katy claimed Terry tried to do this in August as well, after posting alarming messages on social media for months leading up to it. She feared he'd try it again if she did not get court-ordered protection.

Terry's troubling online behavior allegedly included numerous graphic and sexually explicit posts about Katy, comments about killing dogs and cops, threats to "snap Orlando Bloom's neck" and wishing Flynn and Miranda would "catch covid and die."

Breonna Taylor's boyfriend's words -- captured by body cameras moments after the deadly raid -- will loom large in a potential federal case against the cops who killed her ... according to Lee Merritt.

The famed civil rights attorney joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday to discuss 2 crucial takeaways from the newly released body cam vids ... and both focus on Kenneth Walker's statements to Louisville cops on the scene.

In the video, Kenneth repeatedly tells cops he and Breonna didn't know it was police busting into her apartment. When an officer asks which of them fired at cops, Kenneth says, "It was her. She was scared." It's about one minute into this clip.

Lee says that might seem to create some uncertainty about who fired the shot that hit Louisville PD officer Jonathan Mattingly -- Breonna or Kenneth -- but he adds the video also shows Kenneth very emotional and under intense duress.

Since the night of the raid, Lee says Kenneth has insisted he's the one who fired his legally-owned 9mm handgun. He provided some insight into why Walker said otherwise as he was being arrested on the scene.

The other thing the videos reveal is the immediate confusion as to whether police announced they were law enforcement. As you know, a dozen neighbors said they did not. Merritt says the obvious emotion in Kenneth's voice as he repeatedly told police, "We didn't know who it was" adds credibility to his side of the story.

Brad Pitt says he doesn't know the woman suing him for allegedly taking thousands of dollars to appear at charity events, and it seems she might have been duped by a fake Brad.

Pitt's been sued by Kelli Christina, a Texas woman who claims Brad contacted her a couple years ago about helping him raise money for his Make It Right Foundation ... which has been rebuilding New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward since Hurricane Katrina.

Christina claims she established a working relationship with the actor, agreed to help his charity ... and even had a personal relationship that included "discussions of marriage."

Yeah, the marriage part sounds like a giant warning sign she wasn't really dealing with Brad. In fact, he denies ever having any contact with Kelli or communicating with her in any way. Further, in his legal response to her lawsuit ... he says he never asked her for payments, nor did he authorize anyone to do so on his behalf.

According to Kelli's lawsuit, first published by DailyMail ... she sent Pitt $40,000 over a 2-year period with the agreement he'd show up to fundraising events, but he failed to make it to any of them.

She says once she stopped sending payments, Brad cut off contact and it was impossible to reach him or Make It Right. She's suing him for breach of contract and fraud to get back her money back ... plus additional damages.