Who Is Lisa Storie-Avenatti? Plus New Details On The Felony Domestic Abuse Charges Against Michael Avenatti (Was It A Set-Up?)
Quick, go check Donald Trump's Twitter.
getty Stormy Daniels' attorney and frequent punching bag of the president Michael Avenatti has been arrested on felony domestic abuse charges. A confrontation with a woman on November 12th in the Century City neighborhood of Los Angeles left her swollen and bruised. The altercation reportedly happened after he kicked her out of an apartment. She was seen on the sidewalk outside the luxury apartment tower wearing sunglasses while screaming into her cellphone, "I can't believe you did this to me!" Avenatti was charged, arrested and booked on felony domestic abuse charges. What are the details in the charges against him? Was he set up? And who is Lisa Storie-Avenatti?
1. Who is the woman?
TMZ originally reported that Avenatti's ex-wife Lisa Storie-Avenatti was the woman in the altercation. Multiple news sources have since retracted that info and are reporting it is another as yet unidentified woman. Avenatti claims these charges are being completely fabricated to damage his reputation. Let's face it, in today's political climate anything is possible. We will update this point if more information on the woman who filed the report of domestic abuse against Michael Avenatti becomes available.
2. What happened?
After the woman was found outside the luxury apartment building on Century City's Santa Monica Boulevard, security escorted her back inside. Avenatti arrived five minutes later and chased her into the building while saying, "She hit me first" and "This is bullsh**, this is f***ing bullsh**." The incident that caused the woman to be "bruised and swollen" allegedly occurred Tuesday, November 13th. Avenatti was arrested after the woman returned to the apartment Wednesday to retrieve her belongings. She called the police to be on standby just in case.
3. He has been arrested
The Hollywood Reporter, TMZ, BuzzFeed News, the AP and KABC have all confirmed with the Los Angeles Police Department that Avenatti was arrested on "suspicion of felony domestic violence" on Wednesday, November 14th. LAPD officer Jeff Lee said that the domestic violence report was taken on Tuesday in West Los Angeles. The arrest was made Wednesday. "We can confirm that today LAPD Detectives arrested Michael Avenatti on suspicion of domestic violence. This is an ongoing investigation and we will provide more details as they become available," the LAPD Twitter account posted Wednesday.
4. He denies it
Avenatti denies the charges against him. In a statement issued through his law firm he said, “I wish to thank the hard working men and woman of the LAPD for their professionalism they were only doing their jobs in light of the completely bogus allegations against me. I have never been physically abusive in my life nor was I last night. Any accusations to the contrary are fabricated and meant to do harm to my reputation. I look forward to being fully exonerated.”
5. He's been booked on felony domestic abuse
Just in the time this article was being written Avenatti went from being arrested to being booked. The LAPD Twitter account sent an update out at about 3:44pm PT saying, "We can confirm that Michael Avenatti (DOB: 02-16-71) was booked this afternoon on a felony domestic violence charge (273.5 PC). His bail is set at $50,000." He made bail and was released.
6. He insists he was set up
Michael Avenatti's most recent pre-arrest post on Twitter calls out TMZ, who broke the story about his alleged domestic abuse, for having the same attorney as Donald Trump. He posted the Tweet below: "Who would have guessed that Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump would have the same lawyer. Here is Charles Harder last year threatening to sue the NYT over its 'false' Weinstein story. The story then won a Pulitzer."
7. His ex-wives came to his defense
Christine Avenatti Carlin was married to Michael Avenati for 13 years. She tweeted: “Michael has ALWAYS been a kind loving father to our two daughters and husband to me. He has NEVER been abusive to me or anyone else. He is a good man.”
Avenatti's second wife, Lisa Storie-Avenatti, who was initially believed to be the woman involved in this incident, told CNN that she wasn't at her ex-husband's apartment that afternoon.“I haven’t see Michael in months. It’s a complete fabrication. Bruises on my face? It is insanity. He wouldn’t hit anybody. Especially a woman. He’s got two daughters.”
8. This isn't the first abuse allegation against him
This isn't the first time abuse allegations have been made against Michael Avenatti. His ex-wife, Lisa Storie-Avenatti, accused him of abusive behavior in the past. In court documents, she describes Avenatti as "emotionally abusive." In one incident, she alleged in court documents: "...on Sunday, December 17, 2017, I offered for him to be with [redacted, thier child] for 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a nanny present. Petitioner took umbrage with the request for a nanny. On December 17, Petitioner showed up with his 15-year-old daughter, [redacted], and demanded access to the house (Petitioner did not say whether he was interested in seeing [redacted, their child]). I had the nanny take [redacted] upstairs and went outside to talk to Petitioner. Petitioner immediately started yelling at me to let him into the house and started to videotape me with his phone. Petitioner also threatened me that he would be staying at the house every night in the coming week. I told Petitioner to stop making a scene and that he was scaring [redacted] who was hiding behind a pillar. He said that [redacted] was not scared and was there to be his witness. Petitioner continued to yell at me and at some point he must have called the police, who arrived. I heard Petitioner tell the police he wanted access to the house. The police declined Petitioner’s request and later told me that this was going to be a nasty divorce." Michael Avenatti denied these allegations.
9. Not his only legal trouble
Last month, Michael Avenatti was ordered to pay $4.85 million to an attorney at his former Southern California law firm. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dennis Landin issued the ruling after turning down Avenatti's request to move the case to federal court. The opposing side called Avenatti's request an attempt to delay the case. He did not appear at the hearing, nor did he file opposing arguments. The judge ruled that Avenatti must pay the $4.85 million because he personally guaranteed a settlement with former employee Jason Frank. Frank alleged that Avenatti's firm misstated its profits and as a result, he was owed millions. Avenatti alleges that Frank stole his clients. Avenatti issued the following statement regarding the matter: "Any judgment issued against me will be deducted from the over $12 million that Jason Frank owes me and my law firm Avenatti & Associates as a result of his fraud. We look forward to receiving our check for over $7 million." Avenatti is eligible to appeal the ruling due to the fact that he never filed opposing arguments in the case.
10. His law firm was evicted
About an hour after Avenatti was ordered to pay $4.85 millon in back salary, his firm Eagan Avenatti had another setback. His firm was evicted from their office space at Newport Beach's chic Fashion Island mall for failing to pay rent for the last four months. The landlord, the Irvine Company, claims Eagan Avenatti owed $213,253 in rent. Avenatti claims that his firm made repairs to the office suite which should be deducted from the rent owed.
11. Then there's all these other lawsuits
In 2013, Avenatti partnered with actor Patrick Dempsey in a Seattle-based coffee chain called Tully's Coffee. The trouble started almost immediately. The deal to buy Tully's closed in late June 2013 and by August, Dempsey was suing Avenatti for not funding the deal according to their agreement. Dempsey's lawsuit alleged that an internet search revealed that Avenatti had borrowed $2 million at the insanely high interest rate of 15% to fund the deal. He did not actually have the money to finance the whole thing, leading Dempsey to pull out of the partnership. Global Baristas owes $4,998,198 in federal taxes according to an IRS lien. The company also owes thousands of dollars in state taxes and has more than 20 state liens filed against them in Washington and California. In early April, Washington state issued a warrant over more than $721,000 in unpaid state taxes. Since 2013, 46 lawsuits have been filed against Global Baristas. The company has been sued by a number of landlords for tens of thousands in unpaid rent. Global Baristas has been named in 13 unlawful detainer cases in the past year. Avenatti claims to no longer be involved with Global Baristas. However, he is still listed as the sole governing person for Global Baristas in Washington business filings. Avenatti claims he sold his part of the company at a profit sometime in the past. However, in 2017, Avenatti told the Federal Bankruptcy Court that he was the owner.
12. End of his run for President?
Avenatti has openly expressed his desire to run for President of the United States in 2020. If these allegations against him prove to be valid, he may have lost the race before it even starts. He's serious about his candidicacy, though. He has spent time in New Hampshire, where the 2020 race officially begins. He has set up a PAC. He feels that Democrats need a fighter who could take on Trump at his level.
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. She is deeply devoted to her chocolate Labrador and an avid long distance runner. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.