Legal

Noella Bergener's set to become one of the new stars of "The Real Housewives of Orange County," but her housewife title's already dubious ... because her husband wants a divorce.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Noella's hubby James Bergener, a personal injury attorney known in SoCal as "Sweet James" thanks to his many billboards and other advertisements, filed the divorce paperwork last week in Puerto Rico.

The couple was just married in June 2020 and has a 2-year-old son together, and according to our sources ... Noella was blindsided by the filing. We're also told James is not currently living at the Orange County home they share together.

What's interesting here, aside from the impending divorce of a brand new 'Real Housewives' couple, is the timing ... as it comes on the heels of Bergener being accused of owing nearly $6 million in back taxes.

According to legal docs ... Bergener was hit with a massive federal tax lien for 2018 and 2019 totaling over $4 million, and a separate lien from California for $1.85 million.

Noella addressed the situation on Instagram, saying ... "I was just as shocked and disgusted to find out a week before filming ... and not from my husband. My marriage has been a fight every day since."

She added ... "I am being very open about my journey and looking at every option to settle my husbands debts." She also opted to file docs of her own -- for legal separation in California -- days after Bergener filed, and she's asking for primary custody of their kid and spousal support.

Joel Kinnaman claims a woman with whom he had sex back in 2018 is now claiming it was not consensual, and he wants a restraining order.

The "Suicide Squad" star claims he met Gabriella Magnusson back in 2017, when she was an aspiring model and actress.  He says they had a "brief romantic relationship" the following year and she "is now using harassment, threats of physical violence by herself and others, and threats to disseminate false information to extort money from [him]."

Kinnaman, who has appeared in "The Killing," "Altered Carbon," "RoboCop" and "House of Cards." says their relationship took a turn in December, 2018, when they had sex and she was bothered that he didn't let her stay over and didn't check to make sure she made it home safe.

He says after that encounter, she sent him sexually explicit videos of herself in 2019 and 2020. He says he did not respond and blocked her. Kinnaman says that made her angry and she tried contacting him using other peoples' phones and became increasingly confrontational.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, she threatened to publicize false information -- specifically, that they had sex against her will in December, 2018, unless he gave in to her financial demands.

Kinnaman says he tried resolving things last month when his manager was meeting with Magnusson and her brother, who was carrying a rifle. He says during that conversation, she admitted the sex wasn't against her will but she was upset with the way he treated her. She mentioned the sex was so rushed she kept her shoes on and was then shown the door.

According to the docs, Kinnaman says Magnusson said she was a member of the Crips and threatened members of the gang would hurt him.

She says she knew people like Chris Brown, LeBron James and Lil Wayne, all of whom were angry at him and were available to harm him on her behalf. Kinnaman says she said, "They will f*** your life, Joel ... everyone will come after you in L.A. ... he will f*** your life so you will not be able to film anymore, Joel."

Kinnaman also says at one point her brother pointed a rifle at his manager.

He says her demands included an apartment for 1 year, a work visa, a Wiki page, a verified Instagram, an introduction to a Hollywood agent and other compensation in exchange for staying silent.

Jim Belushi has filed for divorce after more than 23 years of marriage ... and it's the second time he and his wife have called it quits in the past 3 years.

Jim beelined it to Los Angeles County Superior Court Friday and filed divorce docs, according to online records.

As we reported ... Jim's wife Jennifer filed divorce docs of her own back in March 2018, but the couple reconciled more than a year later, with Jim filing for the divorce to be dismissed and a judge signing off.

It's unclear what led to the split this time around ... but during their earlier split, Jennifer cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for their separation.

Jim and Jennifer tied the knot way back in May 1998 and they have two adult children together, a daughter named Jamison and a son named Jared.

Jennifer is Jim's 3rd wife ... he was previously married to Marjorie Bransfield from 1990-92 and to Sandra Davenport from 1980-88.

It will be interesting to see if Jim and Jennifer go all the way through with this divorce, considering their history.

Nicki Minaj's husband is taking a plea deal that could seriously lighten his punishment for failing to register as a sex offender in California ... TMZ has learned.

According to docs filed by federal prosecutors ... Kenneth Petty has agreed to plead guilty to one count of failing to register, and in return, the feds say they will seek a sentence at the low end of the guidelines.

The judge will ultimately determine exactly what Petty gets, but in the docs -- obtained by TMZ -- the feds note the mandatory minimum sentence is 5 years of supervised release.

If you're wondering why Petty took the deal ... consider that the maximum sentence he could have faced is 10 years in prison with a lifetime of supervised release. He still might end up getting some time behind bars depending on how the judge weighs Petty's criminal history.

You'll recall, Petty was charged back in March 2020. He had moved to Cali with Nicki the previous year, and the feds said he never registered with local authorities as a sex offender -- something he was required to do because of a 1995 conviction in NY for first-degree attempted rape.

Britney Spears' personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery, has fired back at Jamie Spears, but what she's saying also raises issues about Britney's current mental health state.

Montgomery is reacting to Jamie's legal filing Friday, in which he says Jodi raised concern about Britney's mental state, calling her "mentally sick" ... and even suggesting it might require a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold.

Jodi says, through her lawyer, Jamie misrepresented her position ... "At no time did Ms. Montgomery express to Mr. Spears that Ms. Spears would currently qualify for such a hold. The concern that Ms. Montgomery did raise to Mr. Spears during their telephone call is that forcing Ms. Spears to take the stand to testify or to have her evaluated would move the needle in the wrong direction for her mental health."

As you know, it was actually Britney who told the judge she wanted to testify back in June. And, Jodi's lawyer is not saying Jodi did not raise the issue of a 5150 hold as an option ... the lawyer says Jodi never said she'd qualify for an involuntary psychiatric hold.

The lawyer adds, "Ms. Montgomery does have concerns about Ms. Spears' 'recent behavior and overall mental health' as set forth in Jamie Spears Declaration ... Due to medical privacy, Ms. Montgomery cannot go into those concerns with any further detail except to say that having Jamie Spears continuing to serve as her Conservator instead of a neutral professional fiduciary is having a serious impact on Ms. Spears' mental health."

Jodi's lawyer also notes Jamie said in his legal docs it was Jodi who got Britney into a mental health facility back in 2019. Jodi's lawyer says at the time Jodi was merely a case manager for Britney -- not her conservator -- and she signed the admission papers at the behest of Jamie.

What's interesting here ... when Britney testified in June, she told the judge she was forced into the facility, but Jodi's lawyer seems to take issue with that, saying, "Ms. Spears consented to her placement at the facility in March, 2019."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo could soon be facing criminal charges for allegedly groping a woman's breast, because one of his accusers has filed a complaint with cops.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the complaint against Cuomo was filed this week with the Albany County Sheriff. The woman behind the complaint is reportedly Cuomo's executive assistant, who claims he groped her breast in the Executive Mansion last year while they were taking a selfie.

Cuomo's accuser claims he pulled her in for a hug while they were snapping the pic and says he reached under her blouse and grabbed one of her breasts. She also claims he's kissed and hugged her in ways that made her uncomfortable.

Britney Spears personal conservator told Britney's dad less than a month ago, Britney was so mentally impaired the conservator raised the prospect of putting her under a 5150 psychiatric hold ... this according to Jamie Spears in new legal docs.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Jamie says on July 9, 2021, he got a call from Jodi Montgomery, Britney's personal conservator, who sounded "very distraught" and expressed how concerned she was about Britney's recent behavior and overall mental health.

Jamie says Jodi told him Britney was not "timely or properly taking her medications, was not listening to the recommendations of her medical team, and refused to even see some of her doctors."

Jamie says Jodi asked for his help, but he said he did not have access to Britney's medical information since he hadn't been in control since late 2018.

That's when Jamie says Jodi raised a 5150 psychiatric hold as an option.

Jamie also said Jodi acknowledged that many of the statements Britney made in open court last June were false ... attributing the alleged falsehoods to the fact she's "mentally sick."

Jamie then says on July 13, 2021, he got an email from Jodi who backtracked and discounted the need for a 5150.

Also in the docs, Jamie takes aim at Britney's new lawyer, Mat Rosengart, saying Rosengart's allegations of malfeasance were "unsubstantiated, vague accusations."

He makes a specific point of disputing Rosengart's claim Jamie denied Britney a trip to Hawaii. Jamie says that was simply false.

And, Jamie says, his "sole motivation has been his unconditional love for his daughter and a fierce desire to protect her from those trying to take advantage of her."

Jamie also says he's "dutifully and faithfully served as the Conservator of his daughter's Estate without any blemishes on his record." He goes on to say when he came on board, the Estate was in debt and facing 10's of millions of dollars in lawsuit, and he turned it around, so it's now $60+ million strong.

He also says he worked hard with a team of professionals to restore Britney to good health, reunite her with her kids with whom she lost custody and help revive her career.

Britney Spears has made it abundantly clear she wants her father, Jamie, out as conservator of her estate and Jason Rubin to take his place ... and if and when he does, sources tell TMZ he'll put Jamie under the microscope.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... if Rubin is appointed, the first order of business will be to conduct forensic accounting to determine if Jamie mishandled Britney's finances.

Rubin is a CPA who routinely dives into complex businesses and does exactly that, and based on the documents that Britney's new lawyer, Matt Rosengart, has filed, there will be a lot to examine.

One of the big-ticket items Rosengart has flagged ... a $500,000 payment to Britney's former business manager, Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group. Tri Star had been getting a 5% percent commission on Britney's gross entertainment-related income, and when she was performing the company was getting a bundle because Britney was making an enormous amount of money.

When Britney went on hiatus in 2019, the amount Tri Star was getting dwindled to around $200,000 a year. A rep from the company sent Jamie an email asking to raise the minimum to $500,000, and Jamie approved it, despite an existing agreement that Tri Star allegedly had which did not entitle it to the additional $300,000 a year.

Rosengart also cited Jamie's request for more than $1.3 million in attorney's fees, which included $541,000 for "media matters."  Rosengart clearly thinks "media matters" is B.S.

And, Rosengart took issue with Jamie paying himself $16,000 a month -- Rosengart says that's $2K more than Britney herself got.

TMZ broke the story ... Britney wants her dad out immediately, and either wants the judge to move up the hearing date from late September to August, or suspend Jamie immediately pending the hearing.

Vanessa Bryant has settled a lawsuit filed by her mother, TMZ Sports has learned.

Sofia Laine had claimed she worked as a nanny for Vanessa and Kobe for nearly 20 years and said she was owed $200,000 ... computed at a rate of $96 an hour.

She also claimed Kobe promised to take care of her for the rest of her life. She says after Kobe died, Vanessa kicked her out of the home Kobe had allegedly bought for her.

Vanessa called the lawsuit "frivolous, disgraceful and unimaginably hurtful." She went on ... "My husband never promised my mother anything, and he would be so disappointed in her behavior and lack of empathy."

As for getting money for working as a nanny, Vanessa said, "I have supported her for nearly 20 years, and was never my or Kobe's personal assistant, nor was she a nanny."

Vanessa went on ... "In reality, she only occasionally babysat my older girls when they were toddlers," adding, "As of ten years ago, our kids were full-time students and athletes and I didn't have another child until 2016."

R. Kelly's lawyers submitted a list of questions for potential jurors ... and it's clear they're trying to eliminate anyone who might judge Kelly's sexual preferences or lifestyle.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the disgraced singer's legal team wants the judge to include 6 additional questions for prospective jurors to answer during the jury selection process.

Here's the first one on the list, just to paint the picture -- "Do you have any views about heterosexual, lesbian, gay, and/or bisexual people that would affect your ability to be a fair and impartial juror?"

From there, the questions focus on specific gay, lesbian and bisexual scenarios and ask the potential jurors if they have views on them that would affect their ability to be fair and impartial.

This all stems from the latest development in Kelly's case, in which the judge ruled he will allow the new allegations -- that Kelly groomed and molested a 17-year-old male he met at McDonald's -- to be presented during trial.

Adrian Griffin -- Toronto Raptors assistant coach and ex-NBA player -- is firing back at his ex-wife, suing for libel after she accused the hoops coach of domestic violence on social media.

47-year-old Griffin filed a defamation suit in New York ... blasting ex, Audrey Sterling, as a bitter woman, hell-bent on destroying his life and career by any means necessary.

As we previously reported, Sterling accused Griffin of getting physical with her while she was pregnant, accusing Adrian of choking her, throwing her against the wall, and dragging her across the lawn. She also claimed he wasn't taking care of their kids.

But, the ex-Seton Hall star is adamant that's straight-up BS intended to keep Griffin from getting an NBA head coaching gig.

"These were all lies, completely fabricated to take advantage of the current online climate where a woman’s unsupported accusation would be inherently believed, no matter how false or far-fetched," Griffin's attorney wrote in the lawsuit.

"In today’s lost cancel culture, where angry mobs patrol the bowels of social media ready to pounce, an accusation, with or without evidence, is the equivalent of a conviction. Sterling knew her accusations to be false. She made them anyway, and persisted in making them, until her thirst for blood was quenched."

AG's lawyer went as far as to call the ploy a "Twitter jihad" where his client had a choice ... "either pay off his ex-wife to end her campaign of lies, or see his career destroyed."

FYI, Adrian and Audrey were married in 1996 ... and have 4 children together. They divorced in 2015.

Since they split, Griffin's attorney says "[Audrey] has harbored an extreme hatred towards [Adrian], in addition to an undying thirst to sabotage [his] career, ruin [his] life, in general, and make [his] miserable as often as possible."

Griffin is considered one of the best players in Seton Hall history ... and played 9 years in the NBA. He's been an assistant coach since 2008 ... working with teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, OKC Thunder.

He joined the Toronto Raptors in 2018 ... and is still currently on the coaching staff.

Britney Spears is sick of waiting for her day in court ... she wants some action now, to get her dad booted from the conservatorship.

Britney's lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, filed legal docs ... asking the judge to move up the hearing date on removing Jamie from late September to August.

Rosengart says every day Jamie continues to act as conservator of Britney's estate, she feels traumatized and loses sleep. Rosengart quotes Britney's personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery, who says, "Mr. Spears's removal as Conservator is critical to [Britney's] emotional health and well-being and in the best interests of the conservatee."

Montgomery also says, "I have had numerous, ongoing conversations with the medical team and we all agree that it would be best for Ms. Spears' well-being and mental health that her father stop acting as Conservator."

Rosengart says, "every day that passes is another day of avoidable harm and prejudice to Ms. Spears and the Estate."

He also says every day that goes by is a threat to Britney's financial health ... "There has been an evident dissipation of assets of Ms. Spears Estate, and that dissipation is ongoing."

Rosengart says Jamie's litigation counsel alone is asking for more than $1.3 mil in attorney's fees ... this for services performed between October, 2020 and June, 2021. He also says Jamie has submitted $541k for "media matters." He outlines what Jamie is making as Conservator and says it needs to stop now.

It's interesting ... he uses a quote from Lynne Spears ... "It is clear to me that James P. Spears is incapable of putting my daughter's interests ahead of his own on both a professional and a personal level ..." What's interesting is Britney seems to dislike Lynne as much as her dad.

Rosengart says if the court won't move up the hearing at a minimum the judge should suspend Jamie immediately from his duties.

Kendall Jenner's being sued by a famous Italian clothing designer for only appearing in one of 2 contracted photo shoots -- but her management team says COVID's to blame, and the company refused to be flexible.

According to the suit filed by Liu Jo ... the company struck a deal with Kendall in early 2019 to pay her $1.5 million to appear in 2 shoots -- one for Liu Jo’s Spring/Summer 2020 campaign and the second originally intended to be used for its Fall/Winter 2020 campaign.

Liu Jo says Kendall fulfilled her obligation for the first shoot in 2019 and received more than $1.3 million by Feb. 2020 when it was time for the second shoot ... but then the coronavirus pandemic happened.

According to the docs ... the Italian fashion house offered to reschedule with Kendall for fall of 2020, but it claims she "ultimately turned down all of Liu Jo’s good-faith offers of compromise."

The company says it even tried to work with her to shoot in October 2020 in Italy when she was already going to be there shooting with another designer ... but Kendall allegedly told them it wouldn't work.

Liu Jo claims it became clear then, she had no intention of fulfilling her contract, so it had to sue ... and it's seeking at least $1.8 million in damages.

However, we're told Kendall's team tried to come up with a compromise to shoot in the U.S. during the pandemic, but it was unable to commit to that. Our sources say it's always her intention to complete every deal ... and it's unfortunate Liu Jo decided to go this route.

A spokesperson for The Society Management tells TMZ ... "This suit is without merit. The Society Management, on behalf of Ms. Kendall Jenner, has continually offered Liu Jo alternative dates and locations to fulfill an agreement that was forced to be delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic."

The Texas cop who mounted a Black teen didn't just get too close for comfort for the family, but perhaps too close for the CDC as well ... because the guy allegedly had COVID that day.

Nekia Trigg's family attorney, Kim T. Cole, tells TMZ ... the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office just got ahold of them to let both Nekia and her mother, Antanique Ray, know that Deputy Conner Martin had tested positive for the virus at the time of the altercation.

Cole says Antanique tested negative Monday, but they're still waiting on results for Nekia ... who just went in for a test herself on Tuesday.

Still, despite testing negative ... we're told Antanique lost 5 days of work because she quarantined until she got her test results back ... she's out a week's worth of income.

The KCSO declined to comment on Martin's condition.

It's just the latest setback for Nekia and co. -- remember, they had to essentially flee their home because of mounting death threats they say they'd been receiving in the wake of the dustup. Not just that, but Antanique still has criminal charges to deal with over the incident.

The family of the man who Terry Kennedy allegedly murdered is now suing the skateboarding star for wrongful death, TMZ Sports has learned.

In new court docs, Josiah Kassahun's estate claims Kennedy beat the hell out of Kassahun at a Comfort Suites in Illinois on July 27, and did nothing to help him afterward.

Kassahun's family says Kennedy hit Kassahun, which caused him to fall to the ground and land on his head.

The family goes on to say in the docs that Kennedy kept hitting Kassahun while he was on the ground, and then did not get him medical attention after he had finished the attack.

Kassahun's family says Kassahun later died on July 31 from injuries he suffered in the altercation.

The estate is suing Kennedy and says the damages exceed $50,000, the docs show.

As we previously reported, Kennedy was charged with first-degree murder on Monday over the alleged incident.

In charging docs, prosecutors say Kennedy punched Kassahun in the head, and then kicked him in the torso while he was on the ground. They claim the strikes ultimately led to Kassahun's death.

Kennedy could face up to life behind bars if convicted.

It's still unclear why Kennedy allegedly attacked Kassahun, though social media postings appear to show Kassahun and Kennedy were friends at one time.

Jail records show 36-year-old Kennedy is still behind bars.

The Black teen who was mounted by a white cop in Texas has evacuated her home -- along with the rest of her family -- following death threats over the viral video.

18-year-old Nekia Trigg is the woman in the troubling video, and her mother, Antanique Ray, and a few other family members have left their Forney, TX home ... fearing retaliation from local citizens and even law enforcement ... according to Nekia's attorney, Kim T. Cole.

Cole says a slew of the death threats were made via social media, including direct messages telling the family they got what they deserved during the incident with police. Cole advised the family to lay off social media while everything unfolds -- she's expecting the threats to increase.

We're told Antanique got arrested for an alleged altercation with cops as they escorted Nekia away in cuffs, but the day after she and the family packed their bags and went to an undisclosed location.

As for why the family fears law enforcement will retaliate ... we're told they have a general fear of the Kaufman County Sheriff's deputies after prior experiences close family friends have had with them.

We're told Nekia, who just graduated from HS, is worried about her mother facing jail time and fears she may have no place to live if Antanique has to serve time behind bars.

Cole says she plans to file a civil rights lawsuit on Nekia's behalf against Kaufman County and Deputy Conner Martin ... who literally straddled her and held her arms down above her head as she screamed saying she couldn't breathe.