Former Fox News anchor Andrea Tantaros has new lawyers, and the first order of business for them is requesting a judge permit her to add the Roger Ailes Estate as a party to her ongoing lawsuit alleging she was emotionally tortured through surveillance and cyberbullying.
Tantaros, after suffering a setback in her first lawsuit against Fox News claiming sexual harassment, filed a second suit in March. According to her new complaint, Ailes ordered the hacking of her personal computer and more. Tantaros claims she was terrorized on social media through “sock-puppet” accounts.
Fox is moving to dismiss. The media giant is denying some accusations while also insisting upon arbitration.
Ailes originally was a co-defendant, but after the former Fox News chief died on May 18, he was dropped from the case.
Late last month, Tantaros had a falling out with her then-attorney, Judd Burstein, who told the court there was an “irretrievable breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.”
Now appearing in court on behalf of Tantaros is Martha Stolley at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
In a memorandum to join the Ailes Estate, Stolley writes “there is a substantial overlap between the claims against Ailes and the claims against other Defendants because Ailes is a central figure with respect to these allegations.”
The Roger Ailes Estate will be in the hands of the widow, Elizabeth Ailes, pending a Florida judge’s approval of her petition for appointment. In Palm Beach Circuit Court, she has filed her late husband’s will. One claim from HarperCollins has already come in with respect to an advance for a Roger Ailes memoir.
Elizabeth Ailes couldn’t immediately be reached for comment about Tantaros‘ motion.
