Rapper Ye was ordered on Wednesday to pay $140,000 as part of a lawsuit filed by a handyman over renovations at his Malibu, California mansion.
Jurors reached the decision late Tuesday afternoon in the Los Angeles civil trial over disputed compensation for the renovations. The verdict was announced on Wednesday morning.
In addition to the $140,000 payment for injuries on the job, Ye was also ordered to pay attorney fees and court costs as part of the mixed verdict. The jurors were asked to consider more than two dozen questions on the verdict form.
Plaintiff and handyman Tony Saxon claimed in the Los Angeles Superior Court civil lawsuit that Ye, 48, agreed to pay him $20,000 per week under a 2021 deal, but only turned over one $20,000 payment and $100,000 for construction costs. An attorney for Saxon accused Ye of maliciously firing his client, resulting in long-term harm.
Attorneys for Ye, who announced on Monday an April 3 concert at SoFi Stadium, have accused the plaintiff of lying.
In court Monday during closing arguments, Saxon’s attorneys said in final arguments that the rapper owes tens of thousands in unpaid wages and overtime. They also claimed Saxon was unjustly fired after injuring his neck on the job.
Ye’s attorneys said bank records show he paid Saxon $240,000 for his work. As for the injury, they said Saxon never sought consistent treatment and showed videos of Saxon as recently as last year, appearing to move with pain.
The wife, “Ye”, formerly known as Kanye West, appeared in court in downtown Los Angeles. West is being sued by a contractor who claims the rapper didn’t pay for work done on his Malibu home. Keenan Willard reports for NBC4 at 5 p.m. on March 4, 2026.
Jurors found Ye did not retaliate against the handyman or act in malice. The jury also decided that Saxon was paid fairly and not wrongfully terminated.
“The wins for the plaintiff were that Tony was an employee. He was injured on the job,” said plaintiff’s attorney Neama Rahmani. “He was not compensated for his injuries because Ye didn’t have work comp insurance. As a result, they’re going to have to pay our attorney fees and costs.
“As far as we’re concerned, jurors didn’t return verdicts on all the counts that we wanted and, certainly, not as much as we asked for, but I do feel vindicated.”
On Friday, Ye told jurors that he didn’t know if he was the CEO of one of his companies, Yeezy Construction. At times, Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — closed his eyes for long periods, appeared to open his eyes suddenly after his head fell forward and spoke quietly on the stand.
The “I Wonder” and “Stronger” singer also urged Saxon’s attorney Ronald Zambrano to call him “Ye” instead of “Mr. Ye.” Judges typically ask attorneys to address witnesses as “Mr.” or “Ms.” during court proceedings.
In his lawsuit, Saxon maintains he was forced to sleep on the mansion floor while acting as a security guard and fired in November 2021 for not complying with Ye’s requests that could cause the plaintiff to be injured. Saxon claims he often complained to Ye about various dangers during the remodeling. Saxon alleges that workers unsafely demolished parts of the house with no safety equipment, yet Ye took no action addressing the complaints.
Ye responded with brief answers when he was questioned in court. Keenan Willard reports for the NBC4 News at 3 p.m. on Friday March 6, 2026.
The day Ye fired Saxon, the singer told him, “If you don’t do what I say, you’re not going to work for me, I’m not gonna be your friend anymore and you’ll just see me on TV,” the suit filed in September 2023 states.
When Saxon replied, “I don’t watch TV,” Ye said, “Leave,” the suit states.
In October, Hammond ruled that Ye should pay Saxon $3,320 in sanctions. An attorney for the plaintiff stated in his court papers that the rapper failed to abide by code requirements by delaying in serving verified responses to Saxon’s interrogatories posed to him in 2023.
Interrogatories are sets of written questions. A verified response is a formal, written answer to a legal request, such as a court document or discovery request, that is signed under oath to confirm that the information is true and accurate.
