Lady Gaga wins case to keep $500,000 dognapping reward
A US judge has decided that Lady Gaga is not required to pay the lady who returned her dogs after they were stolen in 2021 the $500,000 (£410,000) compensation she was promised.
Previously, Jennifer McBride sued the celebrity for the “no questions asked” bounty and $1.5 million (£1.2 million) in damages.
However, the judge ruled that Ms. McBride was unable to collect the money since her involvement in giving the celebrity’s dogs back resulted in a conviction for receiving stolen property.
She countered that she was merely ensuring the two bulldogs were delivered securely.
According to Ms. McBride’s attorney, the singer and actress broke their agreement and committed fraud by withholding payment after their return.
However, Ms. McBride was “not entitled to thereafter benefit from their wrongdoing by seeking to enforce the contract,” Judge Holly J. Fujie said this week.
What took place?
Ryan Fischer was shot in the chest in February 2021 while walking Lady Gaga’s three French bulldogs in Hollywood. The shooting was described as “a cold-hearted violent act” by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He made it through, but a piece of his lung had to be removed.
James Howard Jackson received a 21-year prison term for attempting to kill someone in December.
Following the incident, Jackson and his friends took Koji and Gustavo, two of the canines. Miss Asia, the third, escaped and was eventually located by authorities. Lady Gaga
After Gaga gave the prize, Ms. McBride returned the two stolen pups two days later, unhurt.
In April 2021, Ms. McBride and four other people were detained on an accessory to an attempted murder accusation.
She reached a plea agreement in December to have that charge dropped, and she pleaded no contest to receiving stolen items. As a result, she received a two-year probationary period.
She claimed that she simply took control of Lady Gaga’s pets “for the specific purpose of ensuring their protection and safely returning them,” and denied any involvement in the theft.
The Grammy and Oscar winner’s attorneys claimed such an argument “makes no sense.”
The judge has now upheld an earlier decision, declaring that Ms. McBride is ineligible for the reward because she “has unclean hands that prevent her from profiting from her actions”.
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