Kanye West has found himself in a heap of trouble lately, saying he’s being “beat to a pulp” with the loss of multiple business partnerships as a result of him making continuous anti-Semitic comments amid other controversial behavior. According to a former business manager, the rapper is also on the hook for a substantial amount of money — a matter that’s scheduled to be settled in court, provided Ye can actually be tracked down to be served. A new filing details the attempts that have been made to locate the would-be defendant, and why suing him has become so difficult.
Thomas St. John, Kanye West’s former senior financial advisor and Chief Financial Officer, is suing the rapper and Yeezy LLC for breach of contract, saying he is owed $4.5 million as part of an 18-month guaranteed term, The Sun reports. However, according to documents filed on December 19, St. John is seeking an extension of time to serve West, apparently due to multiple failed attempts to locate Ye ahead of the scheduled case management date set for April 2023. One issue is apparently tracking down Ye’s attorney, as the filing reads:
We were advised about a new law firm for defendants, but not a specific point of contact. We subsequently learned of information in the news that the law firm identified as new counsel was not affiliated with the defendants. Accordingly, we have not been able to serve defendants through their counsel.
It appears the law firm purported to be handling Kanye West’s legal affairs is not, in fact, associated with the controversial icon, so the papers cannot be served to Ye via his legal counsel. It’s unknown if this is in reference to Camille Vasquez, the lawyer made famous by representing Johnny Depp during his defamation trial against Amber Heard earlier this year. West reportedly hired Vasquez in October to handle his business affairs, yet it was reported just days later that she chose to sever ties with the rapper, after he doubled down on his anti-Semitic comments.
In addition to the unknown status of his legal representation, apparently Thomas St. John’s legal team is having trouble finding a current address for Kanye West himself, as the court documents also state:
As a general matter, we have had difficulty confirming the best current address of Kanye West. For Mr. West, despite our diligent efforts, we were unable to ascertain his current residential address, and therefore, have not yet made attempts to serve him personally. Instead, we have attempted to service him by mail at multiple possible addresses.
The Sun reports that attempts were made to serve Ye at three of his California addresses — residences in Hidden Hills, Malibu and Calabasas — with at least one being returned to sender. In Kanye West’s recent divorce settlement with ex-wife Kim Kardashian, the couple’s property was split between the two celebs, with the reality star being awarded 10 residences, including the house Ye purchased across the street from her Hidden Hills home, four other properties in Hidden Hills and one in Malibu. Among those that Ye maintained ownership of were properties in Hidden Hills, Malibu and Calabasas, but it wasn’t specified which addresses the court summons were mailed to.
News of Thomas St. John’s struggles to track down Kanye West blew up after a tweet declared the rapper had been “missing” for weeks. However, Redditors were quick to dispute those rumors, providing photos of the rapper at church. Perhaps that's where St. John's team will need to post up in order to find Ye and officially serve him.
