Former RHONJ Star Jacqueline Laurita Ordered to Pay Hundreds of Thousands in Bankruptcy Case

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Jacqueline Laurita and her husband, Chris Laurita, have been ordered to pay a six-figure sum to their former attorneys.

After the Real Housewives of New Jersey couple, both 55, failed to respond to a lawsuit filed in 2023 by the Seidman & Pincus LLC. lawyers, who accused Jacqueline and Chris of failing to pay them for their representation in a 2014 bankruptcy case pertaining to Chris’ clothing company, Signature Apparel Group, a judge in New Jersey entered a default judgment against them.

According to an August 7 report from Us Weekly, the July 3 order requires Jacqueline and Chris to pay off the $342,000 balance they owed to the attorneys, Mitchell Seidman and Andrew Pincus, as well as $419,000 in interest, which totals $761,000.

In their case against Jacqueline and Chris, the law firm claimed to have provided the couple with “extensive legal services,” including planning and meetings, court appearances, and more, and had sent regular invoices to them, which they never disputed.

“Over time, Defendants fell behind in the payment of fees and expenses owing to [the law firm] pursuant to the Engagement Agreement, such that [the law firm] was compelled to request [permission] from the Bankruptcy Court to withdraw from its representation of Defendants in the Actions,” their lawsuit explained.

After Jacqueline and Chris’ non-payment, the attorneys asked to be removed from their representation in 2018, and the court granted their request. Five years later, they filed a lawsuit against the couple, demanding they be paid what they were owed, plus interest. However, Jacqueline and her spouse failed to respond — even after being served.

In response to the recent judgment against them, an insider close to Jacqueline and Chris told Us Weekly that the amount they’ve been ordered to pay was from a “very old debt where Chris feels like he was overfilled, but he is in the process of negotiating a settlement.”

“They are confident this will be resolved quickly,” the source added.

Jacqueline Laurita was featured in a full-time role on the first five seasons of The Real Housewives of New Jersey before taking on a “friend” role for season six and briefly reprising her housewife position for season seven.