A Los Angeles choose says she is now “on the brink” of ordering the sale of Nicki Minaj’s $20 million Hidden Hills mansion so a former safety guard can lastly gather a $503,318 judgment the rapper and her husband, Kenneth Petty, have refused to pay for greater than a 12 months. The event marks probably the most critical step but in a long-running authorized saga that started with a backstage altercation at a 2019 live performance in Germany, escalated right into a lawsuit Minaj and Petty by no means responded to, and has now moved into the extraordinary realm of a pressured house sale.
The newest listening to revealed how far the state of affairs has progressed. Los Angeles Superior Court docket Choose Cindy Pánuco informed the events she intends to grant the order permitting the house to be offered, saying the applying “seemed good” apart from one lacking doc: a Financial institution of America assertion detailing Minaj’s mortgage funds and day by day curiosity accrual on the property’s $13.3 million mortgage. As soon as that doc is submitted, the choose stated she’s going to finalize her ruling. A follow-up listening to is scheduled for January 22, positioning the case just one procedural step away from inserting Minaj’s eight-bedroom mansion available on the market.
This dramatic flip stems from Minaj and Petty’s full refusal to pay the $503K judgment awarded to Thomas Weidenmüller, a safety guard who says Petty punched him and shattered his jaw after Minaj berated the safety workers throughout a 2019 live performance. After makes an attempt to garnish cash from seven potential payees failed and repeated cost calls for went unanswered, Weidenmüller requested the courtroom to implement the judgment by means of the sale of Minaj’s house. The choose’s feedback now counsel that end result is extremely probably.
How the 2019 Incident Sparked the Lawsuit
The dispute dates again to March 2019, when Nicki Minaj was performing in Frankfurt, Germany. Through the present, a fan breached the barricade and rushed the stage, which reportedly triggered an indignant response from Minaj. Court docket filings say she berated a feminine safety guard and recorded the change. Thomas Weidenmüller, the top of safety that night time, intervened to defend the guard and calm the state of affairs.
In accordance with the lawsuit, Minaj turned her frustration towards Weidenmüller, yelled at him, and threw a shoe that missed. Later, Weidenmüller says he was directed to Minaj’s dressing room, the place Petty accused him of disrespecting the rapper. With out warning, Petty allegedly punched him within the face, leaving him “surprised and disoriented” with a fractured jaw.
His accidents required a prolonged medical ordeal. Weidenmüller underwent a number of surgical procedures, spent 10 days within the hospital, and in the end had 5 metallic plates inserted into his jaw. In a sworn assertion, he stated docs used donor bone to protect house for future reconstruction implants. He initially sought greater than $700,000 for ache, struggling, and medical therapy.
(Kevin Winter/Getty Pictures)
Minaj and Petty By no means Responded to the Lawsuit
Weidenmüller sued Minaj and Petty in January 2022. His authorized crew tried to serve the couple at their gated neighborhood in Calabasas and by mail, however by no means made contact. After quite a few failed makes an attempt, the summons was printed in a newspaper.
As a result of Minaj and Petty didn’t reply in any respect, the courtroom entered a default judgment in March 2024, awarding Weidenmüller $503,318 — an quantity diminished from his unique request however nonetheless substantial. In accordance with filings, Minaj and Petty haven’t paid any portion of the judgment within the 20 months since.
Seven totally different “potential garnishees” — entities suspected of owing cash to Minaj — informed the courtroom that they had no accounts payable to her or failed to reply in any respect. With no funds arriving, Weidenmüller moved to the ultimate enforcement software accessible: requesting the pressured sale of Minaj’s main residence.
(through Google Maps)
The Movement to Promote the Hidden Hills Mansion
Minaj bought the 11,820-square-foot Hidden Hills house in December 2022 for $19.5 million. Court docket filings state the property carries a $13,258,000 mortgage lien and a $722,151 homestead exemption, leaving roughly $6 million in fairness. The home was not too long ago appraised at $20 million.
Weidenmüller’s authorized crew argues that California regulation permits a creditor to request a house sale with out first exhausting different assortment strategies, and that the house’s fairness is greater than ample to fulfill the judgment. “There isn’t a doubt that the sale of the dwelling would fulfill your complete judgment, with hundreds of thousands to spare,” the applying states, blaming the necessity for such an excessive measure on Minaj’s “intransigence in not making cost.”
Choose Pánuco stated she is ready to approve the sale, however desires the mortgage-payment documentation first. She raised one hypothetical: what if the house goes to public sale and would not fetch the appraised worth? The financial institution assertion, she stated, will assist her decide the monetary thresholds required earlier than issuing the sale order.
( Kevin Winter/Getty Pictures)
Why the Choose Is Near Approving the Sale
As Rolling Stone first reported, on the November 24 listening to, Choose Pánuco made clear that the applying to drive the sale was legally sound. “My tentative is to grant this. I simply wish to be certain that we’re getting it proper.” With solely a single doc excellent, her remarks strongly signaled that approval is imminent.
If granted, the mansion might be offered by means of a court-ordered public sale. Proceeds would first repay the mortgage lender, then Minaj’s homestead exemption, after which the $503,318 judgment, with any remaining funds returned to Minaj.
This can be very uncommon for a star house of this worth to be focused over a comparatively modest judgment, however Weidenmüller’s legal professionals say Minaj’s refusal to pay left no various. The appliance describes Minaj as a “world music famous person” with a web value of not less than $150 million, arguing she is “extremely succesful” of paying however has chosen to not.
The Hidden Hills Property at Danger
Minaj’s mansion sits in considered one of Los Angeles’ most unique gated enclaves, house to Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Drake, and different high-profile residents. The property consists of a big pool, guesthouse, health club, theater, and in depth out of doors entertaining house. Court docket paperwork affirm the property is solely owned by Minaj and is the household’s main residence.
For now, the way forward for the mansion rests on one ultimate doc and the choose’s follow-up ruling in January. However with the choose overtly stating she intends to grant the movement, Minaj is now nearer than ever to seeing considered one of her most dear property offered off to fulfill a debt she has repeatedly declined to pay — a outstanding turning level in a case that started with a single punch backstage six years in the past.
