Thomas Girardi, 81, has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
According to a new report, Thomas, whose wife, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member Erika Jayne, filed for divorce in November, met with a psychiatrist in February, who determined that the attorney is unable to understand or participate in the ongoing court proceedings against him.
On March 10, the Los Angeles Times revealed that Dr. Nathan Lavid, a Long Beach forensic and clinical psychiatrist, examined Thomas on February 26 for his conservatorship case, which was initiated by his temporary conservator, younger brother Robert Girardi, in January.
During the examination, the doctor claimed to have found “major impairment” in Thomas’ short-term memory, as well as his logical reasoning and recognition of familiar people and objects, and added that he’s experiencing delusions and suffering from “severely disorganized thinking.”
In December, amid claims of having misappropriated more than $13 million in settlements from clients, Thomas’ law firm, Girardi Keese, collapsed, and just a short time later, his creditors forced him into an involuntary bankruptcy.
As he continued to be accused of stealing money from his clients, Thomas hired a criminal defense attorney, who claimed the attorney was mentally unable to assist in his defense.
In a sworn statement on Wednesday, Dr. Lavid seemingly backed the allegations by confirming Thomas was suffering from “late onset” Alzheimer’s and indicating that he is mentally unable to attend court proceedings “for the foreseeable future.”
“Dementia impairs his ability to understand the hearing,” Dr. Lavid wrote. “His emotional distress is directly related to his dementia and exacerbated by his confusion.”
In a court hearing next week, Robert will seek a more permanent guardianship over his brother.
In an email, Robert’s attorney, Nicholas Van Brunt, said, “This obviously continues to be a heartbreaking time for Robert.”
In other RHOBH news, Erika shared a telling message to her fans and followers that was initially shared by Maria Shriver and appeared to reference her ongoing legal drama with her former spouse.
“Do not judge. You don’t know what storm I’ve asked her to walk through. -God,” the message read.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is expected to return to Bravo for season 11 sometime this spring.