There’s an old saying that goes, “The man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client.” Tom Sandoval just proved that point.
After missing an important deadline in his court case with Rachel Leviss, Tom begged the judge to forgive him without consequences. He blamed the holidays and his search for a new lawyer for his failure to respond on time. Um, Tom, do you not have a Day Planner, dude? It would help you remember important dates like dentist appointments and court deadlines.
Begging for leniency, the Vanderpump Rules alum filed a declaration with the judge presiding over Rachel’s lawsuit against him. Rachel is suing Tom and his ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix over invasion of privacy.
Tom Sandoval claims Rachel Leviss wanted his help in a case against NBCUniversal
Unfortunately, Tom fired his previous attorney just before Rachel’s team sent him a list of questions they needed answers to. While admitting that he has “no legal training,” Tom failed to read the part about the 30-day turnaround.
“On December 13, 2024, I was newly representing myself,” he said. “[I was] actively searching for another attorney and mistakenly believed that I had missed the deadline to respond. I was concerned that this would make it appear as though I was trying to delay things.”
“Therefore, I reached out to [Rachel’s] counsel, Mark Geragos,” he added. “[I] asked for 30 more days to put together responses. Mr. Geragos did not respond to my email.”
As In Touch reports, Tom now has a new attorney representing him. Rachel is suing Tom over explicit FaceTime chats they had during their affair, which he allegedly secretly recorded. When Tom’s then-girlfriend Ariana discovered the videos on Tom’s phone, she allegedly shared them with others. Ariana denies ever sharing the videos and claims she watched them in a private location.
In November 2024 Tom claimed Rachel’s attorneys had offered to drop the suit against him if he’d help with a potential case against NBC. NBCUniversal is the parent company of Bravo, which produced Pump Rules.
Rachel’s lawyers denied Tom’s story, saying, “Tom claims he lost his phone; Tom claimed he lost his lawyer; Tom did in fact lose his motion to dismiss. It now appears he’s lost his mind.”
Tom’s new attorney asks the court for understanding and leniency
Tom’s new attorney filed a motion asking the court not to punish Tom for missing the deadline while he was without legal representation.
“[Tom] represented himself in this case for 32 days,” the lawyer said. “[During this time] he was dealing with the transition from his former attorneys, actively searching for a new attorney, and preparing for the holiday season. This chaotic stretch also happened to coincide with the date his responses to the first and only discovery served in this action were due.”
“At the time responses were due, [Tom] was unfamiliar with discovery procedures,” his attorney continued. “He did not understand what objections could be made, let alone that those objections would be waived by failing to serve timely responses.”
A judge has yet to rule on the motion, and the case is ongoing.
Vanderpump Rules is currently streaming on Peacock.
