Faith Stowers lost her effort to fight Vanderpump Rules producers in public over her claims that she was discriminated against days after she slammed former costar Lala Kent, In Touch can exclusively report.
According to court documents obtained by In Touch, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted a motion brought by Bravo and VPR producers to move Faith’s lawsuit to arbitration.
Arbitration is a private court where the proceedings are not available to the public. The final decision in a case is made by an arbitrator. Bravo and Vanderpump producers argued that Faith, 35, signed multiple release forms to appear on the reality show.
They argued the release forms all stated any dispute that arose from filming the show would be heard in arbitration and not in public court, like L.A. Superior Court where Faith filed her complaint.
Last week, lawyers for Faith and the defendants appeared in court. At the hearing, the judge ruled in favor of the defendants. The case was moved venues, and the L.A. case will be put on pause until a final decision is made in arbitration.
The court found that the appearance releases signed by Faith were enforceable and clear. “The Defendants have satisfied their burden of showing the existence of an agreement to arbitrate,” the order read.
The judge noted, “Directly above [Faith’s] signature on the First Agreement is a statement in capital letters and a bold and underlined font: “I HAVE HAD AMPLE OPPORTUNITY TO READ, AND HAVE INF ACT READ, THIS ENTIRE AGREEMENT. I HAVE ALSO HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW IT WITH AN ATTORNEY OF MY CHOICE SHOULD I ELECT TO DO SO. I FULLY UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS, PROMISES AND AGREEMENTS. IN PARTICULAR, I UNDERSTAND THAT I AM GIVING UP CERTAIN LEGAL RIGHTS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, MY RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT WITH RESPECT TO ANY CLAIM ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT.”
The judge ruled the verbiage, despite Faith’s objections, that was included in the agreement was enough to move the case.
As In Touch first reported, earlier this month, Faith filed a bombshell declaration as part of her effort to keep the case in L.A. court.
She detailed the alleged discrimination she experienced during filming. Her lawyers said Faith was “subjected to racism, sexual harassment, and physical assault in her first season.”
“Over time, her treatment got even worse. Many cast members embarked on an overtly racist social media harassment campaign, accusing her of having gone AWOL from the military [false], of being a thief [false], and being a career criminal wanted by the LAPD [false],” her lawyers added. Faith accused her costars Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute called police to accuse her of a crime she did not commit.
The incident resurfaced years later and Stassi, 36, and Kristen, 41, apologized.
However, backlash over the incident led to the two being axed from the show. Kristen was later cast on the Vanderpump Rules spinoff, The Valley.
