A Los Angeles federal judge ruled Tuesday that Tom Girardi is competent enough to stand trial for fraud despite claims he suffers from late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
The three sentence order written by U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton was filed under seal until attorneys for both sides are able to decide whether any information — such as health records — should remain confidential.
The decision comes after the federal judge presided over a three-day hearing last year.
Girardi, 84, was seen arriving to the California court in late August with a female attorney by his side, who guided him into the federal building.
He appeared with a stern look on his face, and when asked how he was doing, seemed to slightly glance up at the paparazzi camera outside of the courthouse and smile.
Girardi — who was once a renowned attorney and worked on cases like the one featured in the film “Erin Brockovich” — was diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in March 2021.
A sworn affidavit written by Dr. Nathan Lavid, a Long Beach forensic and clinical psychiatrist, and obtained by Pvnew at the time, said, “Dementia impairs his ability to understand the hearing. His emotional distress is directly related to his dementia and exacerbated by his confusion.”
The diagnosis, however, peculiarly came about just as Girardi’s legal woes were starting to mount.
In December 2020, he and his estranged wife, Erika Jayne of the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” were sued for allegedly embezzling money from victims of the 2018 Lion Air flight in order to fund their lavish lifestyle.
That’s the same month it was revealed he had been hospitalized for a “serious illness.” Per his brother, he began suffering from short-term memory loss in January 2021.
Jayne, 52, was ultimately dismissed from the Lion Air suit in January 2022, but the Bravolebrity has supported the stance that her estranged husband suffered from severe mental decline in recent years.
Girardi has also been living at a senior living facility because he is allegedly unable to take care of himself.
However, a court-appointed neuropsychologist, Dr. Diana Goldstein, determined in June 2023 that Girardi was “competent to stand trial,” leading to a hearing to legally review the matter.
Reuters then reported the following August that Girardi’s lawyers argued in court papers that “three neurologists, two neuropsychologists, one neuropsychiatrist [and] multiple lawyers” determined their client suffers from dementia and that he “cannot maintain awareness.”
Girardi had an outburst in court shortly after and he yelled “f–k you” to one of the federal prosecutors.
Dr. Stacey Wood — a neuropsychologist and expert witness for the defense — called the remark “rude and inappropriate” at the time.
Girardi must stand trial for a February 2023 indictment for allegedly embezzling $15 million from his former clients.
The Girardi Keese co-founder was charged with five counts of wire fraud, according to a copy of the indictment previously obtained by Pvnew. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.
Pvnew has reached out to Girardi’s rep for comment on the ruling but did not immediately hear back.
