Legal

Evander Kane will not be allowed to play for the Sharks for the first quarter of the season ... the NHL just banned the star forward 21 games for violating the league's COVID-19 protocol.

League officials announced the suspension in a statement Monday ... though they did not specify what rule he broke.

Of course, Kane had been reportedly under investigation for allegedly submitting a fake COVID vaccine card to the NHL ... but the league only said in their statement Monday that Kane was being barred "for an established violation of, and lack of compliance with, the NHL/NHLPA COVID-19 Protocol."

The league added that Kane will not be paid during the suspension ... with his forfeited cash going to the league's Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Kane will now not be able to re-join the Sharks on the ice until their Nov. 30 game against the New Jersey Devils.

The NHL also revealed in its statement it could not substantiate the domestic violence claims that his estranged wife, Deanna, had levied against him in recent court docs.

"There will be no further comment," league officials said.

The news comes just 1 month after the NHL announced it found no evidence that Kane had gambled on his own games -- something his ex alleged he had done in the past.

Goodbye, Kanye Omari West ... hello, Ye.

Kanye's name change is official, a judge just signed off on the mogul's petition to officially change his legal name to "Ye" ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ. Ye won't have a middle or last name either, just straight to the point.

The judge's approval comes just under two months after we first reported on Kanye filing legal docs in Los Angeles asking a court to give him a new moniker.

He's gone by "Ye" as a nickname for years and years now ... but now the shortened version of the name that's on his birth certificate is what Uncle Sam, and apparently everyone else, will be calling him going forward.

Kim still has "West" in her own surname ... even using it on her recent "Saturday Night Live" hosting gig ... so it will be interesting to see if she keeps it around as their divorce proceeds. However, our sources had previously told us she'll hang onto the name just like the couple's kids.

Erika Jayne's blaming her estranged husband to deflect allegations of shady financial dealings, saying his firm managed her money while they were married ... and she was none the wiser.

As you know ... "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star has been sued for allegedly hiding assets through a "sham divorce" with Tom Girardi, who's accused of stealing money intended for families of the victims in the 2018 Lion Air Flight 610 crash.

So, there's been a cloud of suspicion hanging over Erika regarding how much she knew of Tom's business dealings, and how involved her company, EJ Global, was ... especially since Tom reportedly transferred $20 million from his law firm to EJ.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Erika insists she had zero clue what Tom was actually doing with his or her money, claiming every dime she earned went straight to him or his law firm, Girardi & Keese.

We're told Erika trusted he would manage it properly and make sure all the financial dealings -- like paying for a music vid production crew -- were handled appropriately, and she never actually monitored it.

Our source says all of Erika’s independent income -- from 'Housewives,' paid appearances, sponsorship deals, etc. -- went to EJ Global ... but Erika insists Tom ultimately managed the money.

As we told you, Erika's not watching the airing of the 'RHOBH' reunion, because too much of it is about her financial scandal, and she doesn't want to relive it again.

Jeff Lowe is taking his show on the road, but not voluntarily -- he's being evicted from his "Tiger King" Park, and now has to set up shop in a new location.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the owner of the park went after Jeff claiming he owes more than $10,000 in unpaid rent and other damages. Court documents show the judge ruled Jeff had to fork over $10,000 and vacate the premises by Oct. 22 at noon.

Our sources tell us Jeff's wife, Lauren, showed up to court and said Jeff was taking care of their sick child ... so she asked for an additional 30 days before the eviction, but that request was denied.

Jeff tells TMZ ... he is going to move the zoo to a new, still to be determined, location.

Vanessa Bryant will submit to a physician-ran test on her mental state see if she's actually tormented over the Kobe crash site photos being shared ... that is, if L.A. County get its way.

The late Lakers star's widow is being asked to undergo a psychiatric evaluation -- by force via a judge's ruling if need be -- by County attorneys who want her (and others) suing them to prove she's going through the emotional anguish and distress she claims in her lawsuit.

According to court docs, obtained by USA Today, the County's rationale here is ... Vanessa and co. say they've suffered severe emotional distress as a result of the crash site photos allegedly being spread around among L.A. County Sheriff's deputies, firefighters and others.

But ... how do we know their ongoing agony isn't simply because of the the crash/deaths of their loved ones, as opposed to the photos being disseminated among a relatively small group of people??? That's the County's position -- and they wanna get to the bottom of it.

The County's legal filing reportedly reads, "Despite putting their mental condition front and center in this case, Plaintiffs refuse to submit to independent medical examinations (IMEs)."

They add ... "The County brings this motion to compel IMEs of the Plaintiffs, which are necessary to evaluate the existence, extent and nature of Plaintiffs’ alleged emotional injuries. Plaintiffs cannot claim that they are suffering from ongoing depression, anxiety and severe emotional distress and then balk at having to support their claims."

Vanessa's legal team fired back, saying this was nothing more than a "scorched earth" approach, and a slimy one at that ... where the County is overreaching in their discovery process and going to extreme ends to defend what her attorney calls indefensible conduct.

L.A. County notes ... the photos (which apparently showed off the remains of some of the bodies that day) were allegedly only shared among other County employees, and a bartender -- saying they were never publicly disseminated.

Jussie Smollett is going to have to face the music after claiming he was attacked by racist, homophobic MAGA supporters -- and the City of Chicago's claim he made it all up.

The former "Empire" actor is heading to trial next month -- this after a Cook County judge shot down JS's final attempt to have the criminal case against him tossed ... setting the stage for Jussie to face a jury of his peers over the 2019 incident.

Smollett's attorney tried convincing the court that his client's rights were being violated, seeing how the guy had already forfeited his $10,000 bond and done community service ... which served as the terms he struck with Cook County prosecutors to have the charges dismissed.

Per reports, the attorney noted Smollett had held up his end of the bargain, saying ... "A deal is a deal. That's ancient principle." Not so, according to the judge -- who noted a new set of circumstances arose when a special prosecutor reopened the case ... and charged Jussie anew.

Because of that, the judge said he wouldn't tamper with the new case. As you know, Jussie faces charges of disorderly conduct for allegedly lying in the police reports about what happened to him.

As we've reported ... Jussie claimed he was jumped by two white males wearing red MAGA hats, who hurled racist and homophobic epithets at him ... poured bleach on him ... and then threw a noose around his neck. Jussie kept that noose on until cops arrived and got his story -- an interaction that their body cameras captured upon entering his Chicago apartment.

As the initial investigation unfolded, police say they found that his so-called attackers weren't white at all -- they were two Black men, the Osundairo brothers, whom knew Jussie well from working on "Empire" ... and who confessed to staging the whole thing at Jussie's behest.

There's footage of the guys buying the supplies they used that night ... and even walking past Jussie at one point on the streets. The brothers claim Jussie paid them to set up the entire attack ... something he's denied entirely at every turn, defiant to prove his innocence.

Sean Penn's actress wife just waved the white flag on their union ... because she filed for divorce after just over one year of marriage.

Sean's wife, Australian actress Leila George, filed divorce docs Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court ... according to online records.

Sean and Leila, the daughter of actor Vincent D'Onofrio, tied the knot in July 2020 during the height of the pandemic ... getting hitched in a lowkey family wedding at their home.

They started dating way back in 2016 and did not have any children together.

It's unclear what led to the split.

Jen Shah is trying to pack in all the fun -- and paychecks -- during what could be her last few months of freedom ...  'cause she's hosting an event at Larry Flynt's strip joint.

"The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star's set to make a pretty penny on October 22 at Flynt's Hustler Club NYC, just days after her heavily-publicized telemarketing fraud trial was supposed to begin ... though it's now been pushed to March 2022.

We're told Shah will be doing meet-and-greets and signing autographs at the popular strip club, and will also get an onstage shout-out with Alexis Monroe ... an adult actress who's celebrating her bday that night.

According to a Hustler Club rep ... Jen was all about hosting the event, and she's "receiving a large sum (of money) in exchange for her appearance, most likely enough to put a dent in her legal bills." Sources with direct knowledge tell us it's tens of thousands.

As you know ... Shah was arrested in March for allegedly targeting and scamming people -- "vulnerable, often elderly, working-class people" -- out of their money, and the feds have recently accused her of "greater culpability" in the scheme.

She claims total innocence and pled not guilty. She was released on strict conditions. In fact, Jen has to get permission to travel, so we've reached to her to confirm that's what she did for this gig. Court records show she hasn't yet requested a travel accommodation.

Her legal issues have been airing on the current season of 'RHOSLC,' with a recent ep showing her arrest on the federal fraud charges that could land her up to 30 years in prison.

Celebrity dermatologist Dr. Alex Khadavi just got slapped with a restraining order in the latest fallout from his homophobic rant caught on video ... he's gotta stay away from the people who accused him of making death threats.

According to new legal docs ... the gay married couple who claim they were on the receiving end of Khadavi's threatening rant is getting court-ordered protection.

The docs, obtained by TMZ, show that Khadavi is banned from harassing, intimidating, attacking, striking, stalking, threatening, assaulting, hitting, abusing, destroying personal property or disturbing the peace of the couple, who live in his building.

Khadavi, whose celeb clients have included Lance Bass and Scott Disick, has also been ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from them anywhere outside of the West Hollywood condo building where they all live.

TMZ broke the story ... Khadavi's rant on July 7 was captured on video, which appears to show him approaching the front desk concierge in a hostile manner, talking smack about people who live in the building, referring to them with the homophobic f-word, and threatening to "blow their f***ing heads off."

The restraining order will be in place for the next 3 years, ending in October 2024.

Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green have finally hashed out a final settlement in their divorce ... and all they need now is a judge's signature, which should come any day.

The exes filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, that spell out some of the terms of the settlement. They agreed to joint legal and physical custody of their 3 boys ... something they had agreed to do from the jump.

Sources connected to the couple tell TMZ ... there was NOT a prenup, and in California, that means anything acquired during their 10-year marriage would be 50/50.

As for child and spousal support, the docs don't say. There's reference to a settlement agreed upon that was not filed with the court.

Megan will have her name restored from Megan Green to Megan Fox.

Megan is repped by Disso Queen Laura Wasser, and Brian is repped by Scott Klopert.

Megan and Brian got engaged in 2006 and there were a bunch of speed bumps that followed. They ended their engagement in 2009 but got re-engaged a year later.

They married on the beach in Maui in 2010. Megan filed for divorce in 2015, but the papers were withdrawn in 2019. Megan filed for divorce again last November.

Anyway, it's good that they figured out how to close this chapter of their lives -- because each of them has certainly turned the page in the romance department. As everyone knows, Megan is with Machine Gun Kelly now ... and Brian's dating 'DWTS' phenom Sharna Burgess.

Britney Spears is sending a thinly veiled warning to her father and the rest of her family ... she says they should be worried about what she might say about them to the media.

Britney just opened up a bit about how her life is now that she can see the light at the end of her conservatorship tunnel ... and she didn't have a lot of nice things to say about her relatives.

The singer says ... "Lord have mercy on my family’s souls if I ever do an interview!!!"

She adds ... "I haven't done anything to be treated the way I have for the past 13 years" ... and says she's "disgusted with the system and wish I lived in another country!!!"

Britney says she's been waiting a long time for her freedom and now that the conservatorship is in the final stages, she's "scared to do anything because I'm afraid I'll make a mistake!!!"

It sounds like the prospect of ending the conservatorship was dangled in front of her for a long time ... she says she was "always told if I succeeded at things, it could end … and it never did!!!"

Britney says she's celebrating Christmas early, and it looks like she already has a Christmas tree in the same living room where she usually records herself dancing.

It's not even Halloween yet, but Britney's reasoning goes like this ... "I believe any reason to find more joy in life is a good idea … and it’s no secret that I’ve been through it in the past … so I might have to do things a little differently from now on!!!"

Britney's also confirming what we first told you ... she's got no plans to perform and says she's "staying clear of the business ... which is why this is so very confusing for me!!!"

While millions are tuning in to see the 'RHOBH' reunion, one pair of eyes won't be -- those belonging to Erika Jayne, who is not looking to re-experience all that tension and drama.

Sources tell TMZ ... Erika has no plans to watch the 4-part special because what she went through while shooting it was grueling enough. If she were to watch, she knows that would mean going through the roller coaster of emotions again ... and she's just not up for it.

Instead, we're told she'll keep busy by working on a couple of business ventures and, overall, staying in a good headspace.

Erika, of course, spent an entire day filming the reunion on September 10. She was in the hot seat amid allegations her estranged husband, Tom Girardi, stole money intended for families of those who died in the 2018 Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia.

During Part 1 of Wednesday's reunion ... around 1.5 million viewers tuned in to watch host Andy Cohen grill Erika about the legal woes. She took the opportunity to address people accusing Girardi of siphoning millions, saying the biggest misconception is "that I'm cold and have no sympathy."

Erika added that she wants anyone who was wronged to be whole again, and that it's important that the alleged victims hear that from her.

As for what's keeping her busy ... we're told some of the new business ventures include a beauty-related project and a big social media project. But, while she's trying to move on ... 'RHOBH' might not make it easy to do so.

Tyga's dodging cancel culture -- at least to this point, because TMZ's learned he has NOT been yanked off the Rolling Loud CA lineup on the heels of his domestic violence arrest.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Rolling Loud is not pulling the "Rack City" rapper from his scheduled performance in December. The festival's position is noteworthy when you consider several music festivals were quick to remove DaBaby earlier this year, following his homophobic rant at Rolling Loud Miami.

In fact, Tyga was on a stage Thursday night at a club in Orange County ... just 2 days after LAPD booked him for felony domestic violence.

Our sources say Tyga felt he had an obligation to perform the club gig, and had a bunch of friends and family members on hand to support him. We're also told Tyga will continue to show up where he's slated to perform and hold his head high despite the allegations.

As we reported ... he voluntarily turned himself in to the LAPD following allegations his ex-GF, Camaryn Swanson, made against the rapper. Swanson claimed he roughed her up during a dispute at his house earlier this week.

Sources close to Tyga say Camaryn showed up at his house around 3 AM Monday and acted belligerent at the door -- but after Tyga let her inside, things allegedly turned physical.

Camaryn filed a police report, claiming Tyga struck her, and she later posted video showing her alleged injuries. A rep for Tyga tells us, "The allegations you have been reading about our client the past few days are false and will be disproven."

Joe Don Rooney -- lead guitarist for the country music trio Rascal Flatts -- allegedly told cops a wild story about what led to his DUI bust. Literally, wild.

According to a police affidavit, obtained by TMZ, cops say Rooney told them he was driving his BMW in Williamson County, TN back in September at around 4 AM when a deer ran out in front of him.

Cops say Rooney blamed the deer for causing him to veer off-road and crash into some trees, which deployed his airbags. Cops say Rooney smelled like booze ... and that he told them he played golf earlier before going to a friend's house for drinks. The officer says he admitted to "one more than I should have."

What's more ... cops say Rooney bombed several field sobriety tests. As we reported ... he was ultimately arrested and taken to county jail where he was booked on a misdemeanor DUI charge. He was later released after posting $2,500 bond.

Robert Durst will spend the rest of his life in prison ... the judge just sentenced him to life in prison, without the possibility of parole, in the murder of Susan Berman.

The frail-looking 78-year-old's trial began in March 2020, was adjourned for 14 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic ... but now it's come to a close with Judge Mark E. Windham sentencing him to life behind bars, ruling Durst's guilt was proven beyond a reasonable doubt in multiple ways.

Before the sentencing, Durst's legal team tossed up a Hail Mary for a new trial alleging several errors by the court ... but the judge shot it down.

After that, there was a round of emotional victim impact statements -- including one family member calling for Durst to reveal the location of Kathy Durst's body -- and Susan's son spoke at length about how her death negatively affected his life.

As we reported ... Durst was found guilty in the murder of his best friend, Susan, and he was facing life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The first-degree murder conviction and sentencing come more than 6 years after Durst arguably confessed to murdering Berman and his wife, Kathy, on a hot mic during the filming of the documentary, "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst."

In the HBO doc, you hear Durst muttering to himself, "You're caught ... What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course." He claims he was high on meth when he made the confession.

You'll recall ... Kathy disappeared way back in 1982 and it's widely suspected Durst killed her, though she was never found and he was never charged. Kathy's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Durst, but he scored a legal 'W' in that suit.

Los Angeles County prosecutors set out to prove Durst killed Berman because she knew something about Kathy's death. Berman's body was found on Christmas Eve in 2000, and just 2 days later, the LAPD received a letter from someone telling cops where Susan's body could be found.

Police said they linked the letter to Durst, but the case went cold ... until it was reopened in wake of the HBO doc.

Mohamed Hadid's pockets could get a lot lighter soon ... he's been ordered to fork over almost three million bucks to neighbors in his mega-mansion lawsuit.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a jury came to a verdict and decided Mohamed's neighbors John and Judith Bedrosian and Joseph and Beatriz Horacek suffered serious damage when Mohamed tried to build his doomed Bell-Air mansion dubbed the 'Starship Enterprise.'

The jury awarded the Bedrosians $300k and the Horaceks more than $2.5 million for their mental suffering, anxiety, emotional distress, annoyance, inconvenience, and other damages.

The neighbors sued in 2018 over Hadid's massive project on a hillside ... claiming thousands of cubic yards of soils were removed from the hillside without proper permits, which created a dangerously steep slope.

A third-party was appointed to demolish the property and remedy the soils and hillside stability issues. That order came in January 2020 but the structure's still standing.

A judge has now ordered the demolition to go forward. As we reported ... prosecutors also charged Mohamed over the ordeal. He pled no contest and ultimately got 3 years probation, community service and fines.