VPR’s Raquel Leviss Sues Tom Sandoval & Ariana Madix
UPDATE: Two days after filing his lawsuit, Sandoval promised to drop the legal action.
“Late Tuesday afternoon, my attorney Matt Geragos, whose advice I trusted called me about the Cross-Complaint in the lawsuit against myself and Ariana,” he wrote in a July 18 Instagram statement. "He assured me that the action was customary and strictly preventative in these types of lawsuits and urged me to agree to it.”
And while noting the words “lawsuit” and “suing” were not used to explain the action to him, Sandoval admitted he should’ve “done more of my due diligence on the matter.”
He added that he’s since removed Geragos from his legal team, and wrote, “In no way am I suing Ariana. The action against Ariana brought on my behalf is being removed. I hold no ill will or vindictiveness toward Ariana.”
The TomTom co-owner ended his message with the hope that he and his ex are able to work through Leviss’ lawsuit against them—which was why Sandoval’s cross-complaint was filed in the first place—quickly so they can both move on with their lives.
E! News has reached out to Geragos for comment but has not heard back.
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readAriana Madix and Tom Sandoval Slam Raquel Leviss' Revenge Porn Lawsuit
Scandoval continues to be played out in the courts.
After Rachel “Raquel” Leviss sued Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix in February for revenge porn, among other claims, Sandoval has filed a cross-complaint against Madix for accessing the NSFW video of Leviss on his phone that first unearthed the pair’s affair.
As seen in court documents obtained by E! News, Sandoval alleges Madix, who ended the pair’s nine-year relationship after uncovering the video, “obtained access” to his “cell phone and reviewed images, information, data, videos and/or communications including, but not limited to, Facetime videos between Leviss and Sandoval without [his] authorization or permission.” He then claims she made copies of the content distributed it to both Leviss and third parties without his permission.
Within the causes of action in the suit, Sandoval, 41, claims that if Leviss, 29, sustained damages during the aftermath of their affair going public—as she claimed in her lawsuit—then “these damages were caused, entirely or in part, by” Madix, that the Love Island USA host accessing his cell phone and “private data” was an invasion of privacy and that her actions make her guilty of guilty of "oppression, fraud, or malice" as she "acted with the intent to vex, injure, or annoy” Sandoval.
Ben Symons/Peacock via Getty Images & River Callaway/Variety via Getty Images & Jesse Grant/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
Due to the suit’s claim that Madix is entirely or partially responsible for Leviss’ damages, the suit claims Madix, 39, should be required to “fully or partially” compensate Sandoval “for any sums that [he] may be compelled to pay as the result of any damages, judgment, or other awards recovered” by Leviss.
It also seeks “a judicial determination of the respective rights and duties” of both Madix and Sandoval in paying any damages awarded to Leviss and seeks an official declaration on the “comparative liability” from both parties.
E! News has reached out to the attorneys for Madix, Sandoval and Leviss for comment but has not heard back.
Madix’s lawyer Jordan Susman did, however, condemn Sandoval’s suit in a statement to Us Weekly, saying, “It is abhorrent that Sandoval continues to torment Ms. Madix in this way.”
The statement also claimed Sandoval was aware of the “privileges” he and Madix shared regarding their personal devices during their relationship.
Araya Doheny/Getty Images
“If he or his mistress had their way,” Susman continued of the Tom Tom co-owner, “it would be illegal for someone to discover their spouse or significant other was having an affair. For Mr. Sandoval to go from begging Ms. Madix for forgiveness to blaming her for his wrongdoing speaks for itself.”
In Leviss’ February filing, obtained at the time by E! News, she named eavesdropping, revenge porn, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress as her complains and accused Sandoval of recording illicit videos of her without her knowledge, and Madix of distributing the content.
The document claimed Sandoval recorded explicit videos of Leviss “in a state of undress and masturbating” without “her knowledge or consent,” noting more videos may exist than the two she’s seen.
On Madix's involvement, the document said, "Leviss is informed and believes, and on such information and belief alleges, that Madix obtained at least two illicit videos of Leviss and distributed them and/or showed them to others without Leviss's knowledge or consent."
"At a minimum," the filing stated, "Madix circulated the illicit videos to herself and Leviss."
The Rachel Goes Rogue podcaster’s lawsuit was filed almost exactly one year after the news of her affair with Sandoval broke.
For everything that’s happened gone down before and after that day that rocked the Vanderpump universe, keep reading.
photosView More Photos From A Timeline of the Vanderpump Rules Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix Break Up Drama