Jennifer Lopez Extortion Suit Dropped in Favor of Chauffeur
Jennifer Lopez's $20 million extortion case against her former chauffeur has been reportedly dismissed in court on Wednesday.
Hakob Manoukian was named in a lawsuit filed by Lopez in Los Angeles Superior Court earlier this year after the driver allegedly attempted to blackmail the singer.
The "If You Had My Love" singer claimed that Manoukian demanded to be paid $2.8 million; otherwise he would go public with personal information about Lopez.
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According to a report obtained by E! News, L.A. Superior Court Justice Joseph Kalin granted Manoukian's motion to strike J.Lo's cross-complaint hearing on Dec. 21.
Lopez's legal action was in response to that taken by Manoukian in 2011 when the driver sought a lawsuit against the singer for wrongful termination and breach of contract.
The chauffeur claimed that he had been working for Lopez since 2005 when the singer's manager, Benny Medina, forced him to resign in 2011 and publicly berated him.
Moreover, the driver said he was hired to be Lopez's full-time head driver, but that the defendant and her manager failed to pay him his previously agreed upon salary.
In the suit, Manoukian claimed that Medina "would often rip him for the way he dressed, cussed him out in public and told him he could not speak English well enough," according to TMZ.
Alternately, Medina said that the driver was simply a "disgruntled employee who chose to quit," TMZ reported at the time.
Meanwhile, Monoukian's suit is still pending. He is seeking compensatory and general damages and overtime compensation.
Lopez has remained busy with her music career, and was spotted using her fame for a good cause on Sunday. The 43-year-old participated in a football game at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in her native Puerto Rico to benefit Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.
"So much fun," Lopez posted to Twitter later that day, along with a photo of herself scoring a touch down. "Gonna miss u."
