Real Housewives of Orange County star Vicki Gunvalson demanded the lawsuit accusing her of financial elder abuse be thrown out of court, In Touch can exclusively reveal.
According to court documents obtained by In Touch, Vicki, 62, and her insurance company Coto Insurance and Financial Services denied all allegations of wrongdoing in the case brought by Diane Field.
In her filing, Vicki’s lawyer argued, “[Diane] knew, or in the exercise of ordinary care should have known, of the risk and hazards involved in the undertaking in which they engaged, but nevertheless and with full knowledge of these things, did fully and voluntarily consent to assume the risks and hazards involved in the undertaking.”
Vicki’s attorney also said the claims are barred because Diane failed to use “due diligence.”
The RHOC star also said that Diane was “careless and negligent with respects to the matters alleged in the” lawsuit. Vicki asked the court to throw out the entire lawsuit and not award Diane a dime.
As In Touch first reported, Diane, 74, claimed she met Vicki in 2019. She said Vicki and Vicki’s partner Ali convinced her to hire them to help manage her finances and take out a life insurance policy.
Diane said her 85-year-old husband George was injured in a bike accident in 2002. She was responsible for managing her estate worth around $6 million.
In the suit, Diane claimed Vicki and Ali said they could help lower her income tax and increase future/potential financial capital for her children. Diane claimed Vicki and Ali told her the investments she provided would be put in a safe and conservative fund.
“[Vicki] was very convincing, and Diane felt that she could trust her,” the suit explained.
Diane accused the duo of fraudulent sales tactics. She said the life insurance policy ended up costing her hundreds of thousands more than she expected. On top of that, she said the investments did not earn like she believed they would.
In December 2022, Diane said that she told Vicki and Ali that she had concerns about the investment recommendations over the years.
She explained “that she felt uninformed by them and that the annuities and life insurance policy they convinced her to open did not seem to be the best investments for her, as they tie up large sums of money for a long time that she may never be able to use, for maybe longer than she will live or will be too old to enjoy.”
Diane accused the duo of financial elder abuse.
She demanded unspecified damages.
At the time the lawsuit was filed, the reality star’s legal team told us, “Victoria Gunvalson is a well-respected insurance broker with more than 34 years of experience. She has helped more than 7000 clients. She vehemently denies each and every allegation set forth against her by Diane Field in this lawsuit.”
They added, “Ms. Gunvalson followed the direction of her client, Diane Field, in placing the insurance products Ms. Field requested regarding the annuities and the life insurance policy. Ms. Gunvalson did not engage in any conduct that could be considered financial elder abuse, breach of fiduciary duty, or fraud.”
“Victoria Gunvalson remains committed to the highest standards of integrity and transparency,” they continued. “Needless to say, we are outraged by the false allegations being made against her. We will vigorously defend her good name and reputation in this lawsuit.”
