The wild story of the Tadao Ando-designed Malibu home that Kanye West bought for $57.3 million in 2021, stripped to its concrete shell and later sold at a steep loss, took another turn on Thursday when a judge rejected the rapper’s attempt to block legal claims by a construction consultant who says he was placed in “extreme danger” on the project.
At a court hearing, a Los Angeles County judge rejected West’s effort to severely narrow the labor lawsuit filed in 2023 by Tony Saxon. West, who now goes by Ye, had argued that Saxon should be barred from recovering any construction-related payments, including an alleged fee of $20,000 per week, because Saxon was not a licensed contractor. In his ruling, the judge said the challenge was premature, finding that Saxon’s claims had been adequately pleaded and that any questions about licensing were for a jury to decide.
He said the case would remain on track and proceed to trial on March 2. When the judge asked Saxon’s lawyer if a mediation meeting in the meantime might be helpful, the lawyer said it was worth a shot. The attorney agreed to contact Ye’s lawyers, who didn’t even appear at the Thursday hearing, to set one up.
In his lawsuit, Saxon said Ye hired him in September 2021 to manage renovations on the architecturally significant beachside home originally designed by Ando, a Pritzker Prize–winning Japanese architect. Saxon said he agreed to oversee the work while living at the site, providing around-the-clock security. Saxon was promised $20,000 a week, the suit says, but received only a single payment as he spent the next two months sleeping at the construction site without a bed and struggling to meet what he described as Ye’s increasingly extreme demands.
On Nov. 5, 2021, during a team meeting, Ye allegedly ordered Saxon to remove all electricity and windows from the house, according to the complaint. Saxon said he objected, warning that the request posed “extreme danger.” Ye allegedly insisted on bringing large generators inside the home to continue the work, creating what Saxon described as a serious fire hazard. When Saxon refused, Ye purportedly threatened him, told him he would become “an enemy,” and ordered him to “get the hell out,” effectively ending his role on the project that would later draw intense scrutiny.
In an Instagram post, Saxon said Ye’s vision for the home was “open concept BUT off the grid.” He said Ye wanted a bomb shelter in the basement and “NO ELECTRICITY NO WINDOWS NO PLUMBING and NO STAIRS!!!” Saxon alleges he injured his back during the project. His lawsuit is seeking unpaid wages, medical expenses, and damages related to lost earnings and emotional distress.
Ye’s lawyers did not respond to a request for comment. Last week, Ye and his lawyers filed a separate lawsuit against Saxon, alleging he and his lawyers “wrongfully” placed a $1.8 million lien on the mansion “while simultaneously launching an aggressive publicity campaign designed to pressure Ye, chill prospective transactions, and extract payment on disputed claims already being litigated in court.”
The lawsuit cites a statement that Saxon’s lawyer, Ronald Zambrano, gave to Business Insider in January 2024 that said, “If someone wants to buy Kanye’s Malibu home, they’ll have to deal with us first. That sale cannot happen without Tony being paid.” Attempts to reach Zambrano and his co-counsel on the case were not immediately successful on Thursday.
A judge released Saxon’s lien last July, ruling that he didn’t enforce it, but Ye claims the matter caused him “substantial damages.” He claims he was forced to buy a bond from an insurance company to move ahead with a sale. Overall, the lien had the effect of “discouraging” prospective buyers and lenders, as well as “increasing perceived transactional risk, and inviting speculative reporting about [Ye’s] finances and the property’s marketability,” the lawsuit alleges.
Ye eventually sold the house for $21 million in September 2024. The buyer, Steve “Bo” Belmont, told the Los Angeles Times that his goal was to restore the architectural gem, “to make it as though Kanye was never there.”
This story was originally published on Rolling Stone.
