Stevie Wonder is suing Carmen Efferson in an attempt to evict her from a Los Angeles property he owns, alleging she has lived there rent-free for almost four decades.
Court documents state that Ms Efferson moved into the home in July 1988 under a verbal arrangement with no written lease and no monthly rent. Wonder claims the agreement has now ended.
The singer’s legal team allegedly tried several times during the summer to enter the property for an insurance inspection, but says Ms Efferson refused to allow access.
Lawyers for Wonder say the lack of access put the property’s insurance cover at risk. A notice was sent in July terminating Ms Efferson’s right to remain at the house, according to the lawsuit.
She was allegedly expected to leave by 27 August, but is said to still be living there. Wonder is asking a judge to order her departure and is also seeking damages and legal costs.
Dispute over Los Angeles property
The court papers describe an increasingly hostile exchange between Ms Efferson and Wonder’s legal representatives.
In one email included in the documents, Ms Efferson accused a lawyer of using a “racist cold-blooded ‘white male privilege’” tone and told him to stop contacting her. The message also contained several profanities.
Attorney David Huff responded that the lawyer who had initially contacted Ms Efferson was neither white nor male. He also said his own grandfather had been a civil rights hero and warned that refusing the inspection could result in eviction.
Ms Efferson is reported to have had a romantic relationship with Wonder, with the pair said to have been engaged in the late 1980s. Wonder has since married his third wife, Tomeeka Robyn Bracy, whom he wed in 2017.
