Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Girardi (aka Erika Jayne) is caught in a growing legal storm — this time in a massive $24 million lawsuit filed in Florida by renowned fashion designer Marco Morante, co-founder of the iconic Marco Marco brand. But the financial stakes are only the beginning of her troubles.
According to court documents filed in Miami-Dade County, Florida, plaintiff Marco Morante initiated the lawsuit in August 2024 against Erika Girardi, along with Laia Ribatallada and Michael Minden. In November, the defendants filed a Combined Motion to Dismiss based on lack of personal jurisdiction. However, since then, the defense has failed to take any further action to move that motion forward or set a hearing date.
Morante’s legal team alleges that they made multiple efforts to push the process along — including a formal Motion for Case Management Conference filed in February 2025. The court granted the request and scheduled a management conference for March 20, 2025, specifically to set a date for hearing the motion to dismiss. Shockingly, at that hearing, none of the defendants’ attorneys appeared.
Attorney Jim Wilkes, believed to be representing Erika in Florida, has come under fire for failing to properly file a motion to withdraw and for missing the court-ordered hearing. As a result, the court ruled that the defendants had abandoned their motion to dismiss and officially STRUCK it from the record. The court also stated it would now entertain a motion for default judgment — meaning Erika could be found liable by default if no defense is filed.
Adding fuel to the fire, sources suggest that Evan Borges, Erika’s attorney in Los Angeles, hasn’t been paid for this case, reportedly in an effort to cut costs, as Wilkes is licensed to practice in Florida. But this “budget strategy” may be backfiring — fast — as the plaintiff’s team moves aggressively forward while the defense stumbles.
With the possibility of a default judgment worth $24 million looming, Erika’s legal woes may be reaching a breaking point. And so far, the defendants have not publicly responded to their absence in court or the court’s striking of their motion.
👉 Can Erika Girardi turn this around — or is this about to become the biggest legal defeat of her headline-making career? One thing’s for sure: the court won’t be waiting around.
