Tom Girardi

**Thomas Vincent "Tom" Girardi** (born June 3, 1939) is the husband of Erika Girardi and is well known for appearing in the Bravo reality series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

## Early Life

Girardi was born in Denver, Colorado.

He graduated from Loyola High School in 1957. He then attended Loyola Marymount University where he received his undergraduate degree, Loyola Law School for his J.D. degree and New York University for his LL.M.

## Career

Girardi became the first attorney in the state of California to win a $1 million-plus award for a medical malpractice case. He has handled major cases against the former Lockheed Corp (now the Lockheed Martin Corp.), Pacific Gas & Electric Co, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Hollywood's seven major movie studios.

In a notable case against Pacific Gas & Electric, the utility company agreed to pay $460 million to 650 residents of the desert community of Hinkley, California. The residents blamed incidents of cancer and other diseases on contaminated water leaked from a gas pumping station. This case was the inspiration for the film Erin Brockovich starring Julia Roberts. “That particular case revolutionised people’s thinking about all the toxic things they are exposed to,” he told Attorney at Law magazine. Girardi also served as an adviser on the film. In 2003, he received the honour of being inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame by the California State Bar. According to his website, he is a Member of the Board of Directors and former President of the prestigious International Academy of Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only worldwide organisation, limited to 500 trial lawyers. Girardi is also the first trial lawyer to be appointed to the California Judicial Council, the policymaking body of the state courts.

Girardi was known for his work in Democratic party politics, donating millions of dollars to campaigns, playing a role in fundraising events, and giving advice to governors in regard to judicial appointments.

### The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

In 2015, his wife joined the cast of the Bravo reality television series for the sixth season and has appeared in every season. Tom has also been featured on the show.

## Personal Life

### Marriages and Children

Girardi has been married three times. He married his first wife, Karen Weitzul in 1964 but the couple divorced in 1983.

He married his second wife, Kathy Risner in 1993 but they too divorced.

He married his third wife, Erika Jayne on January 7, 2000. In November 2020, she announced her separation from Thomas. One month before the divorce announcement, the couple were named in a lawsuit for allegedly embezzling funds meant for families of the victims of the fatal 2018 Lion Air plane crash. Media outlets reported that the divorce could be a "sham" to hide assets.

### Health Problems

In February 2021 he was placed in a conservatorship due to short-term memory loss and in March 2021 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

### Legal Problems

In 2010, Girardi was among a group of lawyers who attempted to enforce in U.S. courts a $489 million default judgement entered by a court in Nicaragua, allegedly against Dole Food and Shell Chemicals based on the effects of the pesticide DBCP upon exposed workers. The U.S. courts found that Girardi and others had submitted a translation of the pertinent Nicaraguan documents that was flawed in crucial respects. Girardi and others were formally reprimanded and their law firm was fined for violation of their duty of candor to the courts.

In December 2020, a federal judge in Chicago froze Girardi's assets, citing that he had "misappropriated at least $2 million in client funds that were due to the families of those killed" by the Boeing 737 MAX Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia.

No one from the firm, including Girardi, appeared at the first bankruptcy hearing, in January 2021, for two Chapter 7 involuntary bankruptcy petitions filed in December 2020.

In March 2021 the Los Angeles Times reported that Girardi had been sued more than one hundred times, and multiple complaints had been filed against him with the California State Bar, yet his Bar license had remained pristine due to alleged improper relationships between Girardi and Bar officials. Many of the Bar complaints involved alleged financial malfeasance, including allegations of theft by two dozen women who won $17 million in a lawsuit claiming that hormone replacement therapy caused their cancer along with the alleged misappropriation of millions of dollars in a burn victim lawsuit.

On March 9, 2021 the State Bar of California revoked Girardi's license to practice law.

## Family

**Wives and Partners**

* Karen Weitzul (Ex-wife; 1964-1983)
* Kathy Risner (Ex-wife)
* Erika Girardi (Ex-wife; 1999-2020)