Reality Star Julia Haart Sued by Divorce Lawyer for $415,000 in Unpaid Legal Fees
By: TJVNews.com
Now that Netflix has dropped season two of the highly popular “My Unorthodox Life” reality show that focuses on the life of Julia Haart and her family, it now appears that the formerly Orthodox Jewish wife and mother of four from Monsey, New York has some new legal troubles.
Just for context purposes, season one centered around Haart, her business enterprises and her marriage to Italian billionaire, Silvio Scaglia. Season two informs us that Scaglia is now history after her decided to divorce Harrt after only a few years of marriage.
To say that this divorce has grabbed headlines is a gross understatement as it smacks of palpable acrimony and can only be described as way beyond messy.
According to a recent report in the New York Post’s Page Six, it appears that Haart has been negligent to paying her matrimonial legal bills. The report says that the reality star is being sued by her former divorce lawyer for almost $500,000 in unpaid legal fees.
Attorney Adria Hillman has accused Haart of not remitting payment for the tidy sum of $413, 110.70, according to papers filed in the New York State Supreme Court on December 1st, Page Six reported.
In February of this year, Haart retained the services of Hillman, the Post reported. Her request to the attorney to file divorce papers came only hours after she was given the boot by her ex from her position at Elite World Group, the fashion and talent agency that he purchased in 2011. Scaglia named Haart as the chief executive officer and co-owner of the company in 2019.
The reality show reveals that during the contentious divorce battles, Scaglia has claimed that Haart was not a legal co-owner due to the fact that the papers he signed were never filed in Delaware, where the company was incorporated.
Hillman is being represented by attorney Richard A. Klass and according to court papers filed by Hillman, she claims that she rendered legal services “in connection with negotiating a separation agreement and/or representation in a matrimonial action, “ as was reported by Page Six who have seen the papers.
Page Six also reported that according to her site, Hillman focuses on “hands-on assistance with legal separation, divorce, prenuptial/postnuptial agreements, all complex financial and multifaceted custody aspects of family law.”
Hillman is seeking the amount owed, plus interest, starting from June, the Page Six report indicated.
Speaking to Page Six, Nancy Chemtob, the new lawyer representing Haart in her matrimonial battles, said of her client: “Julia Haart has a tremendous amount of integrity. She would not stiff any lawyer or person and not pay them unless there was good reason. She has the right to dispute charges and work product.”
The Italian billionaire ex-hubby of Haart has also alleged that the mother of four misappropriated funds from Elite World Group to maintain her lavish personal lifestyle, Page Six reported. He said that she used company funds for buying designer clothes and getting a boob job.
For her part, Haart is seen throughout season two of the reality show defending herself from the allegations and has called the accusations “ludicrous.” She added that , “I’ve never taken a penny that doesn’t belong to me.”
In her battle to clear her name and to seek “justice” Haart becomes totally immersed in working with attorneys to provide documentation and as such suffers from palpable anxiety that manifests itself in her inability to eat and sleep.
She is also dealing with fostering her own financial independence by creating a metaverse style start-ip company that uses avatars for online shopping.
In terms of her family, she also attempts to work out some long festering issues with her eldest daughter who was recently divorced after nine years of marriage as well as assisting her bi-sexual younger daughter with immigration issues pertaining to her Swedish girlfriend who is seeking to stay in the United States. Her eldest son Shlomo has been a rock of support to his mother as she navigates the divorce trajectory and the acknowledgement of being single.
Her younger son, Aron is a character who deserves our empathy as he desperately desires to lead a more religious lifestyle through attendance at a black hat yeshiva in order to become a rebbe and Julia brings him to tears with her adamant refusal to grant his request in fear of losing him to what she calls “fundamentalism” within the Orthodox Jewish world.
But getting back to her current divorce imbroglio, Page Six reported that in May of this year, Haart lost her bid to prove that she owns half of Elite World Group. At the time that the court rendered their decision, a spokesperson for Haart spoke with Page Six and said, “Scaglia told everyone that Julia was a 50-50 partner, including bankers, investors, employees and Julia herself. Today’s order is only preliminary and not final. We will have further comment once the judge’s final decision is issued.”
Haart also claimed that her ex sought a restraining order against her and to get it that he abused her, Page Six reported. In n August, Haart lost that bid to prove abuse, although when discussed in the reality show, her younger daughter Miriam burst into tears upon recalling that she witnessed her mother being intimidated by Scaglia.
“There was no fear exhibited by either party and no intimidation, certainly not of Wife,” the judge ruled, according to the Page Six report.
Lest one feel too badly for Haart, she still lives an over-the-top lifestyle surrounded by plenty of wealth in a $65 million penthouse in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan. Haart is very much part of the vibe of the neighborhood and leas the life of someone is not at all worried where her next meal is coming from.
On the intimacy front, Haart gets into some casual sex with a 23-year old guy that she just met in a Manhattan bar thanks to an introduction made by the monogamy-challenged boyfriend of Haart’s personal assistant, Robert.
Page Six reported that Scaglia is already engaged to socialite Michelle-Marie Heinemann, whom he met two months after his split from Haart.