Just The Tonic! 'Real Housewives Of Orange County' Star Vicki Gunvalson 'Voluntarily Dismissed' From $250K Vodka Scam Lawsuit
July 15 2013, Published 2:59 p.m. ET
Vicki Gunvalson is in the clear. RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned the Real Housewives of Orange County star was dismissed as a defendant Monday in a fraud and breach of contract lawsuit that was filed against her.
The reality star's partner in a vodka business, Robert Williamson III, "voluntarily" removed the 51-year-old from the suit in the District Court of Nevada.
But he did not dismiss the dollar action against Gunvalson's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brooks Ayers, we've confirmed.
Each party was forced to bear their own fees and costs associated with the suit.
"Vicki and her lawyer had two marathon settlement talks with Williamson in Las Vegas over the last few weeks, ending in Monday's dismissal," a source close to the situation told Radar. "Brooks was not involved in those discussions and the suit against him is continuing."
According to poker player Williamson, Ayers breached contract, committed fraud, failed to live up to good faith dealings, misrepresented himself and conspired with Gunvalson to unjustly enrich himself.
It's claimed Gunvalson gifted 16.67 percent of the business, named Vicki's Vodka, which was started in 2012, to Ayers without the knowledge of her business partner Williamson.
Ayers then sold it to Williamson in an act of fraud, it's alleged.
He claimed to need the money for unpaid IRS and child support obligations in order to prevent his imminently going to jail for non-payment," the original lawsuit said.
"An agreement was reached, while RW III Williamson was in Clark County, Nevada, for the purchase of Brooks' interest for the sum of $50,000.00 which is memorialized in writing in an agreement dated March 6, 2013."
But then, "it was learned later that Brooks and Vicki had used this purchase as a way to obtain additional money from RW III in bad faith without the intent to honor the intent of the transaction."
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
According to Williamson, Gunvalson later "demanded" that ownership be returned to a 50-50 split between them. He then filed a lawsuit against her and Ayers.
Gunvalson is scheduled to appear on Bravo's What What Happens Live on Monday where it is expected that she will discuss this development. She previously had labelled the suit as "frivolous."
