Jennifer Lopez’ $20 million extortion lawsuit against her former driver has reportedly been dismissed in court.
The singer filed suit against Hakob Manoukian in Los Angeles Superior Court in August.
Hakob initially sued the star for wrongful termination and breach of contract.
The chauffeur claimed he began working for Jennifer and her then-husband Marc Anthony in 2005 but was forced to resign in 2011 after Jennifer’s manager, Benny Medina, berated him in public.
Legal filings obtained by TMZ allege the high-powered manager “would often rip him for the way he dressed, cussed him out in public and told him he could not speak English well enough".
Tensions between the pair resulted in Hakob being demoted from his $200,000 a year job and Head of Security and Transportation before he ultimately quit, according to the claim.
Jennifer countersued. Legal documents filed on her behalf claim Hakob threatened to go public with private information about her if she didn’t pay him $2.8 million.
Hakob was accused of engaging in extortion, attempted extortion, breach of oral contract and breach of written contract.
His legal team fought back for a dismissal to the countersuit.
Hakob argued he was being punished for going public with legitimate claims about his employer.
A judge ruled in his favour, according to the website.
Hakob is seeking compensatory and general damages and overtime compensation.
His lawsuit is pending.
