'Preying On Trust'? Vicki Gunvalson Sued By 82-Year-Old Woman For Alleged Fraud
April 6 2019, Updated 10:06 p.m. ET
Vicki Gunvalson has reportedly been hit with a lawsuit from an 82-year-old woman who claims The Real Housewives of Orange County star lied to her about an insurance policy. According to court documents obtained by The Blast, elderly Joan Lile is suing Gunvalson and her company, Coto Insurance & Financial Services.
She is suing for unspecified damages. Lile has accused Gunvalson, 57, of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and breach of contract, the report has stated.
The woman contends that she and her husband Robert purchased a policy of long-term care insurance and wanted a policy that if one spouse passed away, all future medical premiums for the surviving spouse would be covered on the policy.
Lile has alleged in the court docs that Gunvalson, "preying on the confidence and trust" of her and her husband, sold them a policy that she promised had an inclusion the special provision "Lifetime Waiver of All Premiums for a Surviving Spouse."
"This SWOP benefit was of utmost importance to the Liles because Robert Lile was significantly older than Joan Lile and wanted, above all else, to know that his wife would be protected financially upon his passing," the legal papers said.
Lile believes that Gunvalson fraudulently and willfully misrepresenting the policies to her for more than 20 years, "throughout which time Lile paid ever-increasing premiums yet was ultimately denied the specific benefit on which the purchase of the policy was predicated."
DAILY. BREAKING. CELEBRITY NEWS. ALL FREE.
The woman contends that after her husband Robert passed away in 2017 and she claims she tried to exercise the SWOP benefit, the insurance company denied her –and she continued to be charged policy premiums. Gunvalson has yet to respond to the claims.
The lawsuit news comes after Gunvalson's trouble with her job on RHOC that RadarOnline.com has extensively reported. In early February 2019, Gunvalson missed the first two weeks of filming RHOC amid her contract negotiations.
At that time, Gunvalson's co-star Kelly Dodd gloated about her rival's possible demotion to "friend" status on the Bravo reality show. But after returning from a Bahamas getaway with boyfriend Steve Lodge, Vicki let fans know that she would beappearing on the new RHOC season. RadarOnline.com sources said Vicki is planning an elaborate on-camera engagement to Lodge and then a wedding to secure her position.
Now it looks like she'll also have a court battle on her hands!