Kanye West’s incomplete Malibu home might be up for sale, but there is a million dollar lien imposed on it by the attorney representing a terminated worker tasked with its construction.
Attorney Ron Zambrano, representing contractor Tony Saxon, claimed that Saxon was compelled to work 16 hours a day for Kanye on the home. Additionally, he alleged that Saxton was forced to sleep on the floor near exposed insulation.
Saxton’s Contractor’s Lien
The mechanics lien, also known as a contractor’s lien, is issued by contractors or subcontractors who have performed work on a property but have not yet been paid, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
The Hollywood trade also cited California law where the unfinished mansion is located, stating that the lien acts “as a ‘hold’ against your property, filed by an unpaid contractor, subcontractor, laborer, or material supplier. … If unpaid, it allows a foreclosure action, forcing the sale of the property in lieu of compensation.”
“We just want to make sure he has enough money to pay the more than $1 million he still owes our client before he goes completely broke,” Zambrano said in a statement. “So in this case, if someone wants to buy Kanye’s Malibu home, they’ll have to deal with us first. That sale cannot happen without Tony being paid.”
In late 2021, West purchased a house in Malibu for $57.3 million in an off-market transaction. However, the property is now listed on the market for $53 million. It is worth noting that the mansion was sold for $75 million back in 2013, when it was fully inhabitable.
As reported by Us Magazine on Jan. 10, Zambrano released a statement that called attention to West’s alleged unethical standards and his financial issues since the anti-Semitic rant that cost him his billionaire status and his deal with Adidas .
West, who legally changed his name to Ye, has a reported net worth of $400 million.
“It’s no secret that Kanye is having financial problems, so we just want to make sure he has enough money to pay the more than $1 million he still owes our client before he goes completely broke,” Zambrano said in a statement. “If anyone does work on someone’s house in California and that person doesn’t get paid, under the law, we can put a lien on the property and if there’s still no effort to pay the bill, a judge could force the person to sell the house to pay off the laborer.”
Saxon worked as a contractor and live-in caretaker for West’s home. In the lawsuit, he claimed that he was forced to work 16 hours a day and sleep on the floor near open insulation. He alleged that West owed him more than $1 million in unpaid wages.
Saxon also claimed he was terminated after he refused to rip out the house’s electrical system and replace it with large generators, which he believed would be a fire hazard.
“Plaintiff was terminated for not complying with Defendants’ dangerous requests,” documents from the lawsuit reads, Us Magazine reported. “Specifically, when Plaintiff refused to engage in unlawful conduct or to engage in activity that would further cause him physical injury, Mr. Ye responded, ‘If you don’t do what I say, you’re not going to work for me, I’m not gonna be your friend anymore and you’ll just see me on TV.’ Plaintiff replied, ‘I don’t watch TV.’ Mr. Ye ended the exchange with ‘leave.’”
The million-dollar lien amount is a result of Saxon’s claim that West owes him over $1 million for unpaid labor before he was terminated.
As Finurah previously reported, the rapper acquired the property, initiating renovations in 2021 from Richard Sachs, a portfolio manager and financial adviser. However, essential elements such as windows, doors, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and interior finishes were never incorporated.
West hired Ando, a self-taught Japanese architect known for his signature design that features an austere geometry and a solid concrete facade facing the street, with no openings on the side walls, to redesign the mansion with four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms.
The house comprises about 1,200 tons of concrete, 200 tons of steel, and 12 pylons driven over 60 feet into the sand, according to Oppenheim. The three-story residence features sizable window openings with waterfront views, and an additional 1,500 square feet of deck space.
The construction on the beachfront residence and his $4.5 million Hidden Hills home had halted due to the supply chain crisis.
Malibu’s median home sale price dipped to $3.5 million, marking a 21.3 percent decrease compared to the same month in 2022.
