Jury In Assault Case Will Hear About Naomi Campbell's Past Violent Behavior
Lambrous Lambrou, attorney for a woman who worked for Supermodel Naomi Campbell as a maid, says that his client is very happy with a recent court decision that will allow her to use Campbell's past violent episodes as evidence against her in court.
And she has every reason to be happy: telling the jury about Naomi Campbell's previous conviction for assault and other incidents involving violence may convince the jury that Campbell's problem behavior is a pattern and not an isolated temper tantrum.
Lambrou's client, Romanian immigrant Gaby Gibson, has filed a lawsuit against her former employer, Naomi Campbell, alleging numerous incidents of verbal abuse as well as a physical attack by Campbell during January, 2006. Gibson had worked as a maid for Campbell from November 2005 until January 2006. The alleged attack happened just one month after Campbell was arrested for throwing a cell phone at another maid.
Gibson alleges that Campbell was infuriated when the maid could not find a pair of Stella McCartney jeans. She says that the model accused her of stealing the jeans, called her names and threatened to have her arrested. Gibson's lawsuit against Campbell says that the model said, "I've had it with you, f---ing b--ch," just before she punched or kicked at the back of Gibson's head. Gibson alleges that Campbell stuck her several times while screaming the discriminatory slurs at her.
Campbell was never criminally charged for the alleged assault on Gibson; however, she did plead guilty earlier this year to misdemeanor assault on another employee, Ana Scolavino, with a cell phone. In March, Campbell completed the community service part of her sentence for the assault on Scolavino by working at the Manhattan Department of Sanitation for 5 days where she swept and mopped the floor and did other cleaning duties at the garbage truck garage. She was also ordered to pay Scolavino's medical expenses and was to complete an anger management program.
There have been numerous other lawsuits brought against Campbell by former employees who accuse her of being violent towards them. Campbell settled a personal injury claim filed by former employee Amanda Brack this year for an undisclosed amount.
In 1998, while in Toronto for a film project, Campbell was arrested for beating up her then-assistant, Georgina Galanis. In February 2000, Campbell was able to strike a deal with prosecutors in that case where she expressed remorse for the incident and was let off without a criminal record or any punishment for the assault.
Do you see a pattern of behavior here?
Campbell denies assaulting Gibson and has fought to keep evidence of her previous assaults out of this case. Campbell claims that if Gibson was allowed to present the "scandalous and prejudicial material" regarding her bad behavior in the past, that it would bias the jury in the case.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman has ruled that Gibson's lawsuit against Campbell may proceed and that Gibson may present evidence of Campbell's prior violent behavior to the jury. Stallman wrote in his opinion, "Those alleged acts might be relevant to the issues of intent and the need for future deterrence".