Sharon Stone counter-sues Filipina nanny
LOS ANGELES – Sharon Stone has counter-sued her Filipina former nanny, who is pursuing the US actress for wrongful dismissal and harassment including racist abuse, new court documents show.
In a breach-of-loan-agreement action filed in Los Angeles Superior Court this week, the “Basic Instinct” star says Erlinda Elemen owes $9,500 of a $12,500 loan she made to her in 2010.
Elemen, who worked as a live-in nanny for Stone until she was sacked in 2011, repaid $3,000 between August 2010 and January 2011, but then stopped repayments to the 55-year-old actress.
Her lawyers announced last year that she was suing the actress. A judge has ruled that the former nanny had provided enough evidence to support her charges of harassment, failure to prevent harassment, retaliation and wrongful dismissal.
Stone’s lawyers sought to have the case — which has a tentative trial date of July 30 — dismissed, arguing that comments by the actress did not amount to harassment.
Article continues after this advertisement“All we have is that Ms Stone made comments about Filipino food, Filipino accents,” said lawyer Daniel Gutenplan.
Article continues after this advertisementWhen the lawsuit was announced in May, the actress’s publicist slammed the legal action as “absurd,” claiming the ex-nanny was simply trying to “cash in” on Stone.
The lawsuit claimed the star equated being Filipino with being stupid, and ordered her not to speak in front of her children so they would not “talk like you.”
Stone also banned Elemen from reading the Bible in the actress’s home, even though the live-in nanny looked after the actress’s three children and frequently traveled with them.
Elemen, who was hired in October 2006 and was promoted to head live-in nanny two years later, was dismissed in February 2011, after Stone learned she was paid overtime when traveling with the children and on holidays.
In 2011, the actress was ordered to pay $232,000 in compensation to a worker who injured his knee after slipping and falling in her backyard in 2006.