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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Calling her allegations a "thinly veiled attempt to extend her fame and to rebrand herself as the victim," Tom Sandoval is seeking dismissal of most claims brought by former "Vanderpump Rules" cast member star Rachel Leviss, who alleges he and Ariana Madix produced and distributed revenge porn involving the plaintiff.
In court papers brought Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Sandoval's attorneys urge judge Daniel M. Crowley to toss out Leviss' claims for eavesdropping, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The motion, scheduled to be heard May 24, does not challenge Leviss' revenge porn claim.
The 40-year-old Sandoval's lawyers also are asking that the 29-year- old Leviss' request for punitive damages be denied.
"After thrusting the vicissitudes of her life into the limelight for ongoing public consumption and critique from 2016-23, Leviss has now filed the instant action against Sandoval and Madix, his 38-year-old former girlfriend, complaining of being an object of public scorn and ridicule," Sandoval's attorneys state in their pleadings.
In reality, Leviss' complaint is a "thinly veiled attempt to extend her fame and to rebrand herself as the victim instead of the other woman while denigrating her former friend Madix as a scorned woman and her former paramour Sandoval as predatory," Sandoval's lawyers further state in their court papers.
Leviss' request for punitive damages consist of allegations that are unsupported by evidence and "devoid of sufficient facts to evidence (Sandoval's) conduct as being intentional, willful or fraudulent, let alone despicable," Sandoval's lawyers argue in their pleadings.
According to Leviss' suit filed Feb. 29, she was "a victim of the predatory and dishonest behavior of an older man who recorded sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent, which were then distributed, disseminated and discussed publicly by a scorned woman seeking vengeance, catalyzing the scandal."
To make matters worse, Leviss was misled by Bravo and show producer Evolution Media into believing that she was contractually barred from speaking out about her mistreatment, the suit states.
"As a result, she suffered in silence as Bravo and Evolution watched viewership explode and the rest of the cast enjoyed unseen levels of public recognition and professional opportunity," according to the suit. "It is clear that Bravo deliberately sacrificed Leviss for the sake of its commercial interests from its refusal to allow her the opportunity to tell her side of the story and defend herself, which she repeatedly begged for permission to do."
Leviss ultimately checked herself into a mental health facility and remained there for three months while Bravo, Evolution and the cast "milked the interest her excoriation had peaked," the suit states.
Bravo and Evolution are not defendants in the suit.
Leviss, who was "humiliated and villainized for public consumption," is a shell of her former self and both her career prospects and reputation have been damaged, the suit alleges.