Photo: John Tsiavis/Bravo
Jeff Lewisis ready to face off with his daughter’s surrogate in court after ajudge ruled Mondaytheir legal battle will not be settled in private arbitration.
“I still have faith in our legal system, and I hope moving forward we can distinguish between emotion and facts,” theFlipping Outstar told PEOPLE on Wednesday.
Hedoubled down on his previous claimthat Alexandra Trent, the surrogate who carried his and partner Gage Edward’s daughter Monroe, now almost two, had signed away her right to choose what parts of her pregnancy she wanted to be filmed for the show. He also alleges that a contract she signed mandated that any issues that arose from the filming would be settled in private arbitration — not a public court.
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On Monday, a judge found that the surrogacy contract Trent signed “is reasonably susceptible to more than one interpretation.” The agreement also made no specific mention of “filming [her] giving birth.”
This decision means that rather than settling the lawsuit behind closed doors, the case will be handled publicly and may go to a juried trial.
Reps for Bravo had no comment on the ruling.
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“That, to me, is insanity, because we were upfront and honest from the beginning, to the point where her appearance release was a part of the surrogacy agreement because the whole idea was to document this journey,” he said in June. “It was part of her agreement, it was all tied in. So how do you now say that you didn’t know you were being filmed? It’s a broad appearance release!”
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Trent’s lawyer, Arun Dayalan, spoke to PEOPLE about the ruling. “What Lewis had been saying in the press this whole time is that there is a release that covers the filming that took place, but the judge ruled yesterday that there is no release [that says this].”
Furthermore, Dayalan stated, “The court . . . said that even if it did apply, it was unconscionable, meaning that it was so oppressive — the terms — that it doesn’t have any legal validity.” Now, he continues, “they’re going to have to answer in court for invading our client’s privacy in her birthing room.”
Trent’s legal team expects that Lewis will appeal the decision, but for now, the case is set to go to a juried trial. Trent is suing for unlawful recording, invasion of privacy and fraud.
The legal showdown isn’t the only controversy Lewis is currently facing.
In September,PEOPLE exclusively reportedthat Lewis had parted ways with his longtime friend and coworker Jenni Pulos following an explosive fight that was said to have been caught on camera and will air during the current 11th season ofFlipping Out.
Flipping Outairs Tuesdays (10 p.m. ET) on Bravo.Jeff LewisLiveairs Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays (11 a.m. ET) on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy (Ch. 102).
source: people.com
