A Los Angeles judge has again ruled that the singer and actress, 37, does not need to pay out McBride — an accomplice in the February 2021 kidnapping of Gaga’s two dogs Koji and Gustavto — the $500,000 reward for the pets that was offered at the time of the incident, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
McBride, 53, had previously filed a lawsuit against Gaga, born Stefani Germanotta, this past February for the reward plus $1.5 million in additional damages.
In July, McBride’s attorney had argued that by stating “no questions asked” with the reward offering and failing to pay, Gaga committed a breach of contract, fraud by false promise and fraud by misrepresentation.
However, Judge Holly J. Fujie said in her court order that McBride’s complaint was “legally insufficient in its entirety” following her “involvement in the theft” and pointed out that McBride was indicted and pleaded no contest to charges of receiving stolen property in 2022, and was therefore “not entitled to thereafter benefit from their wrongdoing by seeking to enforce the contract.”
Monday’s final decision by Judge Fujie comes after McBride had been given 20 days to amend her filing, claiming she was “in no way involved in the theft” and only “took possession” of the dogs to return them, per the documents, which the “Rain on Me” singer’s legal team said “makes no sense.”
According to the documents, the court now “finds that nothing alleged in the [first amended complaint] changes this conclusion.” The judge will not allow McBride another revised complaint, and the case is closed.
McBride was arrested along with five others in April 2021 for the dog-theft crime, which led to the stealing Gaga’s two French bulldogs Koji and Gustavto, as well as the shooting and critical injury of her dog walker Ryan Fischer.
At the time of the incident, McBride was dating fellow accomplice Harold White, the father of Jaylin White. Jaylin was involved in the robbery and shooting, along with James Jackson and Lafayette Whaley.
A previous news release from the Los Angeles Police Department said that the couple was “determined to be accessories after the initial crime.” They were then held on suspicion of accessory after the fact to attempted murder, a charge of which McBride was ultimately not convicted.
Jackson, who shot Fischer, pleaded no contest to attempted murder with great bodily injury and was sentenced to 21 years in prison in December 2022. Because of his plea, lesser charges — including conspiracy to commit robbery, second-degree robbery, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and a felon carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle — were dropped.
Fischer, who suffered a collapsed lung from the shooting and stayed with Gaga during his recovery, shared a statement during Jackson’s sentencing. He explained he had gone into debt since the shooting and said to Jackson, “I do forgive you. With the attack, you completely altered my life. I know I can’t completely move on from the night you shot me until I said those words to you.”
Of the dogs, he added, “They were returned and returned to their mom. I don’t think I could have lived with myself if they died.”
In other news – Thando Thabethe wins Best Actress in a Comedy TV at SAFTAs 2023
Thando Thabethe wins an award at the South African Film and Television Awards 2023, which took place on Saturday, 30th of September.
She won the Best Actress in a TV Comedy, for her role in How to Ruin A Christmas season 3. Taking to social media, she shared photos of herself holding the award and penned a note of gratitude. She also talked about how she turned her pain into comedy, which bagged her a win. Read More
