Eagles star Ajayi sued for allegedly trashing mansion, shoving homeowner
Philadelphia Eagles running back Jay Ajayi is being sued for allegedly trashing a Los Angeles mansion he rented after the Super Bowl and then shoving its owner, according to TMZ Sports, which says it obtained a copy of the lawsuit.
The report said Ajayi rented the mansion for five days in early February after the Eagles beat the New England Patriots to claim their first Super Bowl championship.
Ajayi, who joined the team in a midseason trade with the Miami Dolphins, kept the celebration going at what TMZ described as a “swanky 6,000 square foot pad located above the famous Sunset Strip.”
He and his friends held three parties at the house despite agreeing not to do so, the mansion’s owner claims. In fact, he says, the rental agreement specified a $5,000 fee per party.
The owner claims Ajayi was responsible for a broken table and scratched floors at the home and allowed smoking there in violation of the agreement.
In total, the Eagles star racked up $25,000 in penalty fees, according to the owner, and then refused to pay.
When he confronted Ajayi about the money owed on Feb. 18, he says, Ajayi “pushed [him] on [his] chest in a menacing and threatening manner.” He described the incident as “battery,” according to TMZ.
The owner says he had to call local security to remove Ajayi from the property.
An unidentified representative of the running back responded to TMZ’s report, saying “the lawsuit is bogus.” Ajayi did not cause any damages or hurt the owner, the representative said.
Philly.com’s Les Bowen said this isn’t the first lawsuit the mansion’s owner has filed: Eight years ago, he sued Beyonce over a video filmed across the street for the song “Why Don’t You Love Me.”
Source close to the situation says the guy that sued Beyoncé is the same guy suing Jay Ajayi. https://t.co/Y1FiNNJCj2
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) May 15, 2018
TMZ said the lawsuit was filed by Philip Markowitz.
Markowitz claimed Beyonce’s film crew “invaded his neighborhood” in March 2010 and made him suffer “inconvenience, annoyance, ridicule, scorn, embarrassment, humiliation, and hurt feelings” during the daylong shoot.
The Los Angeles site Curbed provided his timeline of the day as it appeared in the lawsuit:
7 a.m.: Markowitz is “awakened by his dog barking from crew in his driveway,” when he would normally be asleep since “he keeps late hours.”
7:30 a.m.: A neighbor calls him to ask him to move a car that isn’t his. He can’t get back to sleep.
9 a.m.: Markowitz tries to leave in his car, but has to wait for the film crew to move clutter blocking his driveway.
9:20 a.m.: He returns to the house and has to wait for the film crew to move equipment again.
10:30 a.m.: He leaves again in his car and an off-duty police officer has to direct him around obstructions.
10:45 a.m.: Markowitz returns, but has to “drive around the block several times before a path could be cleared for his entry to his home.”
11:30 a.m.: He tries to leave again, is blocked again, and talks to the shoot’s production coordinator. He “demand[s] compensation” and tells her “he had been able to receive upwards of $10,000 for the use of his property.” She tells him it’s “a ‘student,’ low budget film shoot”and that they can’t pay him.
Nearly 11 p.m.: Shoot ends.
The lawsuit was dropped in September 2010, and Markowitz told TMZ he had received a “5-figure settlement” to dismiss the case.
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