Legal

Michael Wolff tried pulling a legal fast one on Melania Trump ... at least according to the federal judge who just tossed his case.

Wolff -- the longtime Trump biographer behind books like "Fire and Fury" -- sued after Melania's lawyers threatened him with a $1 Billion defamation lawsuit tied to comments he made linking her to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

But on Friday, a federal judge completely shut down Wolff’s lawsuit ... accusing him of "gamesmanship," "forum-shopping,” and abusing the judgment process by trying to beat Melania to the courthouse before she could sue him herself.

'Real Housewives of Atlanta' alum Kim Zolciak is in court fighting her estranged husband, Kroy Biermann, over claims she neglects their kids, weeks after having her custody temporarily suspended, TMZ has learned. 

Kim filed court docs, obtained by TMZ, claiming the custody decision was made without the proper witnesses testifying, including a therapist who speaks to their family. 

In the filing, Kim alleged the therapist refused to show up to the hearing and testify, despite being under a subpoena. The RHOA alum said she wasn’t able to grill the witnesses present, including the court-ordered lawyer. 

Mackenzie Shirilla was shooting for the stars from behind bars ... because in an undated jail call, she says she wants Kim Kardashian to be her lawyer.

The call -- obtained by PEOPLE and recorded while Mackenzie was held at the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center in Ohio -- features the now-21-year-old discussing the growing media attention surrounding her case.

Speaking to an unidentified person, Mackenzie wonders if Kim K may have seen the coverage ... before admitting, "I'm real nervous and I want Kim Kardashian to be my lawyer."

The wild JPMorgan Chase sexual harassment scandal has gotten even uglier ... because the female exec at the center of the explosive lawsuit says she's now being bombarded with rape threats, graphic sexual messages, and harassment after her former subordinate accused her of abuse.

Lorna Hajdini says in new court docs, obtained by TMZ, that her life has become a "living nightmare" since the allegations went viral online ... and now her lawyers have filed disturbing emails she allegedly received as evidence of the damage being done.

See for yourself ... one anonymous sender told Hajdini they hoped she'd be "gang raped" and urged her to commit self-harm ... while also wishing painful deaths on her family.

Looks like Halsey and ex Alev Aydin may’ve quietly worked things out ... because she’s officially dropped her custody case against him.

According to docs obtained by TMZ, Halsey told the judge she no longer wants to move forward with the custody case she filed involving their 4-year-old son, Ender. The court dismissed the case after concluding her decision was made "knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily."

Exactly what changed since she first filed isn’t clear ... but it's possible the former couple may’ve reached some sort of private agreement behind the scenes.

Michael Jackson’s estate is firing back at the late pop star’s former friends, who are suing for alleged sex trafficking ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, the estate slammed Edward Cascio and his three siblings, who are locked in a legal battle with the estate over claims they were sexually abused by MJ for years in the 1980s.

The estate said the Cascios were already paid massive settlements of $3.45M each, and "demanded the incredible sum of $213M in 2024.”

5/24/26 -- Attorney for the defendants, Morris Missry, tells TMZ ... “We have thoroughly reviewed Mr. Mayweather’s lawsuit. His claims against our clients are utterly baseless and refuted by substantial documentary evidence including Mr. Mayweather’s own correspondence."

"Our clients intend to vigorously defend against these claims and are confident that once all of the facts are presented in court, not only will our clients be vindicated, Mr Mayweather’s gambling issues, prolific spending habits, monies owed to third party creditors and IRS tax liens and levys, as well as other unseemly behavior will be exposed and we believe that Mr. Mayweather will be the one paying significant damages to our clients.”

10:15PM PT -- A source close to Rechnitz disputes the allegations entirely and says Mayweather’s financial, tax levy, and lien issues date back to at least 2018, years before they were ever involved professionally.

The source claims the boxer’s longstanding financial obligations and disputes were pre-existing and not caused by Rechnitz.

Floyd Mayweather says he got cleaned out to the tune of $175M ... claiming a former close associate ran a years-long scheme that allegedly drained his bank accounts, hijacked real estate deals, pawned off his jewelry and even made his private jet disappear.

According to a bombshell lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, Floyd claims Jona Rechnitz spent years gaining his trust ... before allegedly becoming the boxer's de facto money manager, real estate guy and banking middleman.

Now, Mayweather says it was all one giant setup.

Erika Jayne won't be heading to trial in her monster $25 million legal war tied to ex-husband Tom Girardi ... because the whole thing was settled at the last minute.

Lawyers informed the judge Thursday the case had officially been resolved ... just days before jury selection was supposed to kick off.

The lawsuit stemmed from the collapse of Girardi's now-defunct law firm, Girardi Keese, with the bankruptcy trustee accusing Erika and her companies of burning through more than $25M in firm funds on glam expenses and personal bills.

Kim Zolciak’s boyfriend, Kyle Mowitz, denies spending like crazy on his 'Real Housewife' girlfriend, despite his estranged wife’s claims ... TMZ has learned.

Kyle scoffed at his ex Jillian Green’s claims during their bitter divorce battle, according to court docs obtained by TMZ that deny the “repeated accusation” by Jillian that Kyle's “spending is out of control and that he fails to pay the expenses for his family and children.”

The docs reiterate that it is "plainly false to state that [Kyle] uses his money primarily to pay for his own lifestyle and his girlfriend’s lifestyle.”

Kyle claims Jillian is the one racking up debt on her credit cards, which he says he pays for ... adding that his ex lives large and recently dropped $2,300 on a lavish hotel room.

A viral video claiming to show Ashlee Jenae being chased by her fiancé Joe McCann in a hotel before she was found dead in her room is nothing more than some A.I. generated slop ... at least according to Joe's legal team.

In a social media post that's picking up steam online, a woman is being chased by a bald man in what appears to be a hotel stairwell and hallway. The post claims to show new footage of Ashlee and Joe.

But Joe's attorney, Edward Andrew Paltzik, tells TMZ ... "This video is an atrocious deep fake. We are investigating who is responsible for peddling this garbage and will be taking forceful legal action."

Mackenzie Shirilla unloaded on her boyfriend Dominic Russo in a super toxic text chain years before she was convicted of murdering him ... and the messages offer a peek inside their strained relationship.

The text messages, obtained by TMZ, were part of the police investigation into Mackenzie's fatal car crash that killed Dominic and their friend, Davion Flanagan.

Mackenzie appears super emotional in her texts ... telling Dominic, "I'm gonna kill someone" ... "I j want to bang my head on the wall till I'm dead" ... and "THIS IS WHY I J WANNA F***ING KMS."

Mackenzie Shirilla’s aunt tried to defend her niece in her murder case ... telling the judge Mackenzie was in "very much in love" with her boyfriend before the fatal car crash ... TMZ has learned.

TMZ obtained court docs filed as part of Mackenzie’s appeal of her sentence. She made the case that prosecutors failed to prove she had a real motive to kill her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and his friend, Davion Flanagan.

Prosecutors used forensic evidence to show Mackenzie was driving a car that was going 100 mph and didn't apply the brakes before it slammed into a wall, killing Dominic and Davion, on July 31, 2022.

Matthew Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, is asking for some leniency at his upcoming sentencing ... telling the judge he could not "simply say no" when it came to feeding Perry's drug habit ... TMZ has learned.

In new court docs, obtained by TMZ, Kenneth, who is set to be scheduled on May 27, disagreed with prosecutors’ claim he could have told the "Friends" star “no” when he asked for ketamine.

As TMZ previously reported, Kenneth is facing years in prison for securing ketamine for Matthew and even injecting him with the drug on the day he died. Matthew died on October 28, 2023, from the acute effects of the drug.

Carl Welch -- the person who prosecutors claim "No Jumper" podcast cohost Ant Jefe murdered -- died of blunt force trauma in a parking lot ... TMZ has learned.

Prosecutors filed legal documents formally charging Jefe -- real name Maurice Shelmon -- and another man named Johnnie Gray with Welch's murder ... and the L.A. County Medical Examiner listed the cause of death and a few other details on their own site.

Prosecutors allege the crime went down on or about January 31 of this year ... and they also listed a series of previous charges for which Jefe was arrested -- including robbery.

Mackenzie Shirilla is "literal hell on wheels" -- at least that's how the judge felt about her role in the fatal car crash that killed Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan in 2022 -- but who is she, exactly?

Whether you've been following Mackenzie's case for years or are just now hearing the hype over Netflix's new documentary, "The Crash," we've rounded up everything you need to know.

Mackenzie was driving her then-boyfriend Dominic, and her friend Davion home around 5 AM on July 31, 2022 when she crashed her car into the brick wall of a building in Strongsville, Ohio.

Former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick is preparing for a different kinda court over some fake news ... saying anyone who reported she was joining OnlyFans will be hearing from her legal team.

The fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft sent social media into a frenzy this week ... when she claimed a "link" would be added to her bio in 24 hours.

"Link in bio," of course, is a popular phrase used by adult models on X or Instagram (or so we're told) ... leading some folks to think this meant she had created an account on the sometimes X-rated subscription-based platform, especially since she shared the news with a sexy pic.