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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Donald Sterling Sues V. Stiviano, TMZ for Leaking Audio Tapes

LOS ANGELES (CN) - V Stiviano and TMZ violated Donald Sterling's privacy by illicitly recording and releasing a racially charged conversation that brought down his empire, the disgraced mogul claims in state court.

Sterling sued Stiviano - born Maria Vanessa Perez and also known as Monica Gallegos, Vanessa Perez and Maria Valdez - and TMZ Productions in Los Angeles County court this past Friday, for criminal eavesdropping and unfair business practices.

According to the 10-page complaint, Stiviano's "surreptitious and illicit" recording of her conversation with Sterling in which the former owner of the LA Clippers scolded her for "associating with black people" and giving the tapes to the gossip hounds at TMZ resulted in "fallout unparalleled in terms of the damage and reputational harm done to plaintiff as evidenced by the events which took place shortly after the dissemination of the illicit recording...the sale of plaintiff's former team - the Los Angeles Clippers," Sterling says in the lawsuit.

He also blames Stiviano and TMZ for "the recent filing of plaintiff's petition for the dissolution of marriage on Aug. 5 between himself and his estranged wife, Rochelle Sterling," according to the complaint.

In addition to statutory damages, Sterling also seeks a court declaration that Stiviano and TMZ broke the law and an order forcing them to give up the illicit recordings. Sterling also seeks unspecified punitive damages.

He is represented by Bobby Samini of Samini Scheinberg in Newport Beach, Calif.

Earlier this year, Stiviano was ordered to repay Sterling's soon-to-be ex-wife $2.6 million for the gifts Sterling lavished on her, paid for with community-property money.Stiviano has said she will appeal that case, which Donald Sterling was not a party to.

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