Legal

"Baywatch" star David Charvet is adamant the dog he hit and killed with his truck was NOT on a leash ... and he says he shot video showing the dog owner walking her dogs off a leash hours after the incident.

TMZ obtained the video, and it shows David driving his truck down a residential street in Malibu ... as a woman and two dogs head towards him. The dogs are NOT on a leash.

David says it's Vera Errico walking her dogs ... she's the woman who alleges David was behind the wheel in a hit-and-run that killed one of her dogs, who she was walking on a leash in Malibu.

Law enforcement sources have told us David has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing in the unfortunate incident.

Jermaine Jackson could be facing a massive payout to his rape accuser -- without ever stepping foot in court.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, the Jackson family singer could be on the hook for $6.5 million after Rita Butler Barrett -- the woman accusing him of rape -- asked a Los Angeles judge to enter a default judgment ... claiming Jermaine has essentially ghosted the case.

In the filing, Rita's attorneys say they were unable to track Jermaine down -- and had to get court approval to serve him through legal notices published in the Los Angeles Times after traditional methods allegedly failed. Court records show a judge approved service by publication in 2025 ... and notices ran for four consecutive weeks in August and September.

D4vd's iPhone contains a ton of child pornography ... at least according to prosecutors.

The singer was in court Thursday -- exactly one year to the day of when prosecutors claim he murdered Celeste Rivas -- for a status hearing on his upcoming preliminary hearing, which a judge set for May 1.

During the hearing, prosecutors claimed they went through his phone and found a "significant amount" of child porn. It's unclear if the alleged CP features Celeste.

Prosecutors also revealed a wire tap was involved in the investigation. They said the wire tap took place last year, but there were no other specifics.

D4vd was shackled and wore an orange jail jumpsuit ... he was calm, cool, collected, and looked kinda bored. He spoke briefly to the judge, telling her, "Yes, ma'am," as she explained to him how the prelim works.

Smokey Robinson's $500M legal clapback in an ongoing sexual-assault civil suit hit a major speed bump in court ... but it wasn't a total wipeout.

A Los Angeles judge dismissed several claims filed by Robinson and his wife, Frances -- including major defamation claims -- against the women publicly accusing him of sexual assault.

The judge this week found the women's allegations against the "legendary musician" were a matter of public interest ... noting their press conference was broadcast on YouTube, spread across social media, and picked up by major media outlets worldwide.

Atlanta Falcons player James Pearce Jr. is dodging a trial in his Rickea Jackson case after agreeing to enter an intervention program.

Pearce -- who was hit with felony aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing police, and resisting arrest, as well as misdemeanor stalking, after a Feb. 7 domestic dispute -- will take part in the program for six months under strict guidelines.

As part of the agreement, Pearce will not be allowed to make contact with or be near the WNBA star ... and must take part in therapy sessions.

'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star Drew Sidora dropped a bombshell abuse claim about her estranged husband, Ralph Pittman, as part of their bitter divorce ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ ... Drew made the case for the judge presiding over the divorce to reconsider the decision ordering the reality star to vacate the Georgia home she shares with Ralph by the end of next month. Drew told the court she didn't have the funds to move and would be homeless, unless the decision was reversed.

As TMZ first reported, a judge awarded Ralph primary custody of their two kids after a recent hearing in which Ralph blamed Drew for one of their kids having excessive tardiness from school.

Drew said she previously submitted evidence, "a video in which [Ralph] could be heard severely beating the parties' son." She said Ralph admitted to the beating in 2024 ... but denied it at the hearing in March 2026.

Shyla Walker says Landon McBroom’s girlfriend spun a wildly exaggerated version of their custody showdown ... and she claims to have the receipts to prove it.

Shyla is asking a judge to deny Sophia Germano’s request for a restraining order ... claiming she never harassed, threatened or assaulted anyone during the heated April 3 incident.

As we first reported, Sophia claimed Shyla stormed into her gated community, forced her way onto the property, and tried to take Landon and Shyla’s daughter during a chaotic confrontation.

But Shyla says that version is flat-out false.

Jada Pinkett Smith is asking a court to order Will Smith's former friend to pay the $49K tab from her attorneys ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Jada believes she is owed the 5-figure sum from Bilaal Salaam, after she convinced a judge to toss the emotional distress claims from his lawsuit.

Jada said she racked up the big legal bill defending herself in the case, and now she wants Bilaal on the hook because she got some of his claims tossed.

Jason Nichols -- the guy law enforcement says is the one seen in viral Ring camera footage yelling and kicking -- has officially been charged with 4 felony counts ... and his bail has now increased to a whopping $250K ... TMZ has learned.

Fairfield PD officials say Nichols is the man in the video that went infamously viral earlier this month, with doorbell cam footage from a home in Northern California showing him kicking and screaming into the camera ... before appearing to break into the home via a sliding door.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Nichols was charged with four felonies -- first-degree burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, and vandalism. He pleaded not guilty to all counts ... his bail was increased to $250K, and he was served with a criminal protective order.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner is speaking out about being muzzled for months in the Celeste Rivas murder case, TMZ has learned.

The M.E. says Celeste's cause and manner of death was determined way back on Dec. 9 but the information was only made public on Wednesday because there was a prior court order initiated by the LAPD that had been preventing them from releasing their findings.

In a statement, Dr. Odey Ukpo, says ... "After several months, I am grateful this information can now be released, not only to the public, but also to the grieving family enduring loss. It is unfathomable they have had to wait this long to learn what happened to their daughter."

"The transparency of the information contained in our findings and reports is essential for empowering the community to make informed changes to affectively reduce fear and allowing the community to take informed action," he added. "Making the Department’s information publicly available is not just about accountability, it is about social justice and prevention."

"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" alum Kim Zolciak’s estranged husband, Kroy Biermann, is accusing her of neglecting their children, as part of his renewed plea for primary custody, TMZ has learned. Kim’s legal team adamantly denied the claims. 

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Kroy is asking the judge presiding over their never-ending divorce to grant him permanent physical and legal custody of their 4 minor children. 

The current custody agreement allows 2 kids to be with Kim and 2 to be with Kroy – and then they swap and spend time with the other 2. “The children were rarely together as a group under this parenting plan,” Kroy said. 

He claimed Kim “acts in ways that are harmful to the children and contrary to their best interests.” 

Prosecutors say Jonathan Rinderknecht -- the man who allegedly started the horrific Pacific Palisades Fire -- shouldn't be allowed to introduce evidence and argue about the Los Angeles Fire Department's response to the wildfires to get himself out of trouble.

Here's the deal ... prosecutors say Rinderknecht's attorneys are trying to bring up alleged incidents of the department's supposed ineptitude to protect their client and reframe the case around the response to the January 2025 fire to distract from his alleged role in starting it.

One example Rinderknecht is arguing is that one member of the fire department apparently wasn't alarmed by seeing smoke. But prosecutors say brush fires commonly smolder after firefighters put them out ... something they say this particular firefighter knew, and explains the lack of concern.

Prosecutors list a series of examples they say are just like this ... insisting Rinderknecht's attorneys are grasping at straws and attempting to "transform his trial into a misguided and much lengthier trial about the LAFD."

"Unexpected" star Bella Vaughn's mom Falen has broken her silence after being arrested this week in Arkansas ... and it sounds like she's ready to fight the charges.

Kevin Hickey, Falen's lawyer, tells TMZ ... his client denies any wrongdoing ... and she plans to plead not guilty when she is scheduled to appear in court.

As we reported, FV was arrested on Monday for disorderly conduct and disrupting governmental operations. Both charges are misdemeanors.

Brian McKnight says his ex-wife, one of his sons, some bloggers, and a newspaper rolled out a coordinated assault on his reputation to make money from "malicious character assassination" ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

The legendary singer filed a lawsuit claiming he's the victim of a "shockingly dishonest" and "sensational but false narrative" alleging he abandoned his kids and refused to tell his dying son Niko he loved him.

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Brian says the false narrative was cooked up by his ex-wife, Julie McKnight, and he says it's been peddled by his son Brian Jr., bloggers Marc Lamont Hill and Tasha K, and the New York Post.

MrBeast enabled a sexist culture at his company ... this according to a new lawsuit filed by an ex-staffer on Wednesday. A rep for MrBeast's company adamantly denied the claims.

According to court docs obtained by Bloomberg, Lorrayne Mavromatis -- who says she was hired by Beast Industries in 2022 -- is suing the content creator’s company for wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and more … saying she was let go shortly after returning from maternity leave.

Mavromatis claims the company expected her to work through her parental leave … and even felt pressured to join a call from the delivery room.

The company strongly denied she was pressured to work while on maternity leave. 

TMZ has obtained an alleged Slack message sent to her by a coworker on March 31, 2015, stating, "Amazing! I've moved our meeting 30min as it coincided with our team meeting. But let's connect to discuss the idea you had as well." Lorrayne responded, "Hey Frank, I'll need to cancel and postpone. I'm actually in labor at the hospital as we speak." Her coworker replied, "You shouldn't even be checking Slack now LOL. Sending a big hug and lots of success! Enjoy the most amazing experience of our life." 

In another message, dated May 15, 2025, Lorrayne wrote, "Despite being on maternity leave, I feel like it would be extremely valuable to go with you to make sure everything works out smoothly and to have a Brazilian citizen on the ground with yall for any last-minute things that may arise -- specifically with his team. How would the logistics work through? Would there be a seat available on the jet for me?" 

In her suit, the former staffer also alleges in the complaint that she told her manager she was pregnant and needed to go on leave … but claims the company had no parental leave policy and her supervisor never told her about her FLMA rights.

Russell Brand says he did sleep with a 16-year-old ... but, he's clear that's the age of consent in the United Kingdom -- and he never sexually assaulted anyone.

The actor opened up about the charges he's facing in his home country during an interview with Megyn Kelly published Wednesday ... claiming he had consensual sex with the teen when he was 30 years old.

Brand admits he wasn't kind to women back in the day ... using fame, money and charisma to have sex with a ton of ladies -- and not applying any consideration to their feelings.