Legal

Selena Gomez and her mother, Mandy Teefey, deceived investors into pouring over a million dollars into their business ... while the company was secretly crumbling from within and Mandy struggled with a drug problem ... this according to a new lawsuit.

TMZ obtained a lawsuit filed by two companies, Wondermind SRS 44 LLC and Bespoke Wondermind LLC, over the pop star's mental health company, Wondermind Global. The companies are suing Wondermind itself, Selena, Mandy, and their former business partner, Daniella Pierson.

The companies claim Selena and her mom made false representations about the infrastructure, leadership, and resources necessary for the company to launch into a profitable platform ... all to get investments from them. The companies say they invested over $1 million ... based on Selena making the rounds on TV shows and speaking in interviews about the business.

Lindsay Clancy exchanged loving texts with her then-husband just hours before she allegedly murdered their 3 children ... with Patrick Clancy even calling her a good mom ... at least according to text messages shown in court.

Lindsay's defense highlighted the messages Thursday while questioning Massachusetts State Police cell forensics expert Timothy Chiappini during her murder trial.

Chiappini testified Patrick started texting Lindsay around 8:42 AM the morning of the alleged murders ... asking how things were going. After she sent Patrick a photo of Dawson and Cora with a snowman that morning, Patrick called her a "good mama" ... prompting Lindsay to respond with a smiling face and heart emojis.

Tom Segura's estranged wife pulled the trigger on their divorce ... because she filed to officially end her marriage to the comedian ... TMZ has learned.

Christina Pazsitzky filed for divorce in Texas in May. The exes filed court docs to seal the case days later.

The exes share two kids ... Ellis -- who was born in 2016 -- and Julian, who was born 2 years later.

The biological parents of the baby born to a surrogate who refused to have an abortion against their wishes have custody of the child for now ... at least according to their lawyer, who says the political theater surrounding the birth "devastated" them.

Lee Budner of Calabrese Budner, counsel to the baby's biological parents, tells TMZ ... their son -- named Gabriel by surrogate McKenna West -- was born Wednesday morning and is now in their physical custody while he receives medical care.

The couple's lawyer adds ... his clients are placing the baby's health first and following the advice of his medical team.

Xzibit says he and his ex-wife have finally come to an agreement on issues involving property and their child ... meaning their years-long legal drama may soon be finalized ... but he's still got an axe to grind over how she and her lawyer handled the case ... TMZ has learned.

The rapper filed a document earlier this month ... and checked off boxes indicating he and Krista Joiner have come to an agreement regarding property issues, child custody and visitation, and child support. The former couple share a son, Gatlyn, who was born in 2010.

Despite reaching a deal on these issues, Xzibit also filed documents claiming he's spent $1.6 million in attorneys' fees and costs over the last five years litigating the case ... which includes around $400K in attorneys' fees he says he's paid for Krista's lawyers. He claims Krista and her lawyer engaged in "scorched earth tactics" that delayed settlement and ran up the costs of the case

Michael Jackson's estate won a huge victory in court against four siblings who claimed the King of Pop raped and molested them as children ... TMZ has learned.

A federal judge in California ruled Wednesday the "horrific" allegations the Cascio siblings -- Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole and Aldo -- made against Michael in their bombshell child sex trafficking lawsuit against the MJ estate must be handled in private arbitration, rather than a courtroom.

In the decision, the judge found the 2019 settlement between the two parties -- which clearly stated that all disputes would be resolved in private arbitration -- is enforceable and left the court with no choice but to send the case to arbitration.

Lauren Boebert’s son Tyler Boebert accepted a plea deal from prosecutors in his child abuse case that could end up with him serving some jail time ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, the Weld County District Attorney’s Office offered a deal in which Tyler would plead guilty to the charges of child abuse/negligence without injury.

The District Attorney said it suggested the court sentence Tyler to a cap of 30 days in jail and 12-month supervised probation.

The prosecutors also want him to complete a parenting program.

Convicted family killer Chris Watts is hoping to become a married man again ... this time from behind bars.

Watts, who is serving multiple life sentences for murdering his pregnant wife and their two young daughters, has reportedly applied to marry Lizzie Henderson, an Ohio realtor he met while incarcerated.

Henderson's relatives told the Daily Mail the couple submitted an application to marry each other while Chris is incarcerated. She has also reportedly begun calling herself "Lizzie Watts" and filed a confidential petition to legally change her name.

Gleb Savchenko is firing back at his ex-wife's claim authorities are trying to track him down with their teenage daughter ... calling the allegation a "total lie" in a new court filing.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, the "Dancing with the Stars" pro says Elena Samodanova knows where he lives and where their 15-year-old daughter, Olivia, is staying. He also says Elena and Olivia have spoken several times since Olivia decided she wants to remain in California with him.

Gleb specifically takes issue with Elena's previous claim that the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office was "taking steps" to locate him and Olivia.

Miss North Carolina USA winner Brittany Boltinhouse says she isn't sorry about using the n-word in the past ... even if she had to cough up her crown.

In a new interview with Daily Mail, the scandalized pageant queen was asked if she thought she should apologize for using the slur, but she doubled down, saying ... "No. Not at all."

She told the outlet she felt like she was "unfairly targeted," saying ... "It's a constitutional right, it's your First Amendment right to express yourself ... and I feel like I was ripped of that as a proud American."

Diddy is countersuing a man who previously filed a civil suit for sexual assault against him ... alleging the man stole video footage from him and sold it to Netflix behind his back.

The incarcerated star is firing back at Rodney Jones ... claiming the videographer and producer used his position of trust to steal computer drives containing footage owned by Diddy, which were intended for use in a documentary about Diddy's life.

Diddy claims Rodney copied the footage and sold it to Netflix and 50 Cent to use in a competing Diddy documentary.

Rep. Max Miller is facing yet another legal battle with his ex-wife Emily Moreno ... she's suing him and his attorney -- on behalf of their young daughter -- claiming they put a nude photo of the 2-year-old online.

According to the complaint -- filed in federal court in Ohio and obtained by TMZ -- Moreno claims Miller and his lawyer Aaron Minc recklessly published and distributed an image exposing the child's genitalia.

Moreno says Miller provided Minc with a trove of documents and photos in order to combat the public fallout from Moreno's abuse allegations ... and was "indifferent" about what the files contained and how they were used.

According to the complaint ... the nude photo was placed in a Dropbox folder Miller dished out to plenty of people after livestreaming on X, where he defended himself and denied Moreno's previous allegations.

Melissa Rycroft pleaded guilty in her DWI case in Texas ... and she won't spend another day in jail.

The former 'Bachelor' and "Dancing with the Stars" alum was sentenced last week after reaching a plea deal ... with a judge formally signing off on the agreement Monday ... according to court docs obtained by Us Weekly.

Rycroft was sentenced to 20 months probation, instead of 280 days in jail ... and ordered to pay roughly $2,000 in fines and court costs. She'll also have to complete 36 hours of community service, take a DWI education course, and undergo a substance abuse evaluation.

MAJOR twist in the Luigi Mangione case ... his legal team is in serious negotiations with federal prosecutors, sources tell TMZ, and it could have a dramatic impact on his fate.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the negotiations are "real," and it involves a possible guilty plea to murder, but the twist comes with sentencing. We're told one of the "possibilities" is an open plea where sentencing is not negotiated, but left to the judge after an extensive hearing. That would allow the defense to present mitigating factors -- including Luigi's strong feels about health care and corporate greed that altered his mental state -- that could lead to a sentence more favorable than life in prison.

The implications here are dramatic. When someone is charged in both federal and state court for the same offense and the federal case resolves first, the state cannot prosecute based on double jeopardy. Paul Manafort successfully made this argument in a New York state court when he was prosecuted for fraud back in 2019.

Nick Reiner has been indicted for allegedly murdering his parents -- Rob and Michele Reiner -- and special circumstance allegations have been added.

According to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office ... Reiner pled not guilty Wednesday to two counts of murder with the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder by means of lying in wait after a grand jury indictment was unsealed. He also faces another special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife.

Special circumstances can increase potential penalties for Nick if he's found guilty at trial. It's unclear if prosecutors plan to pursue the death penalty, but it opens the door for the D.A. to pursue capital punishment if Nick is convicted.

Chris Brown believes he was hit with a massive $12.9 million judgment because the judge let the jury hear about his assault on Rihanna ... and now he wants a do-over ... TMZ has learned.

The singer filed court docs seeking a new trial in the case against his former housekeeper, Maria Avila, which ended with a huge judgment in her favor.

You'll recall ... Maria filed the suit claiming she suffered severe injuries due to a vicious attack by a dog at Chris' L.A. home.

Chris denied he was legally responsible for her injuries.